Sophistication and simplicity: conventional communication in a rudimentary system

Paweł Ręk and Tomasz S. Osiejuk

Behavioral Ecology, 2010, vol. 21, issue 6, 1203-1210

Abstract: Conventional communication, like human speech or the bee dance, consists of arbitrary signals associated with meaning through convention. Acoustic conventions seem to be frequent among passerine birds having song repertoire variability, but such behaviors are unknown in nonpasserine species producing simple calls. Because the variability of vocalizations is relatively small in nonpasserine birds, no study has investigated their ability to create conventional signals. We experimentally show here that Corncrake males (Crex crex), modifying rhythm in simple 2-syllable calls, signal their neighbors about their aggressive motivation. Males responded more aggressively (approached the speaker and attacked it) to playbacks with intermittent than with monotonous rhythm, and males calling with a more intermittent rhythm were more aggressive. The presence of convention in this system requires that the production of alternative signals is not linked with differential production costs. In Corncrakes, aggressiveness is signaled by a signal with lower production cost (lower call rate) than the lack of aggressiveness, and our results indicate that the honesty of the rhythm is maintained by a receiver retaliation cost rather than by production costs. Our observations suggest that temporal organization of signals in Corncrakes is an example of syntax, equivalent to a very simple Morse code system. Copyright 2010, Oxford University Press.

Date: 2010
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/beheco/arq143 (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:beheco:v:21:y:2010:i:6:p:1203-1210

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://academic.oup.com/journals

Access Statistics for this article

Behavioral Ecology is currently edited by Louise Barrett

More articles in Behavioral Ecology from International Society for Behavioral Ecology Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, UK.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Oxford University Press ().