Data from: Multiple factors affect the evolution of repertoire size across birds

Changes in signaling repertoires across species allow for insight into the
macroevolutionary forces that control signaling systems. Signaling systems
are theorized to be affected by both the social and ecological
environments of species. With respect to social variables, increased
social complexity is thought to lead to increased vocal complexity.
Although ecology can affect signaling systems in numerous ways, one
potential effect of ecology is that more cluttered habitats should lead to
greater reliance on non-visual (e.g. vocal) signals. To test these
concepts on a macroevolutionary scale, we compiled a large dataset of
avian vocal repertoires. We amassed vocal repertoires for 821 species of
birds and for many of these species categorized their vocalizations into
usage categories (e.g. alarm, contact). To analyze the social and
ecological forces that act on repertoire evolution, we incorporated
datasets with several social variables (e.g. cooperative breeding and
length of social bond), and included data on the habitat and foraging
behaviors of species within the dataset. We used Bayesian phylogenetic
analysis to test for potential relationships within the data. We found
that cooperative breeding was a significant predictor of larger repertoire
size in birds; we also find several, more targeted effects. For instance,
foraging strata affected repertoire size and repertoire composition. In
sum, we find considerable evidence that social features affect repertoire
size while certain ecological variables have more targeted effects on
vocal repertoires.

跨物种信号库（signaling repertoires）的变化为深入理解调控信号系统的宏观进化力量提供了视角。信号系统受物种的社会环境与生态环境共同影响。就社会变量而言，社会复杂性的提升被认为会导致发声复杂性的增加。尽管生态环境可通过多种方式影响信号系统，但其中一个潜在效应是：栖息地越杂乱，物种对非视觉信号（如发声信号）的依赖度应越高。为在宏观进化尺度上验证这些概念，我们构建了一个大型鸟类发声库（vocal repertoires）数据集。我们收集了821种鸟类的发声库，并将其中多数物种的发声行为按功能类别（如警报、联络）进行分类。为分析影响发声库进化的社会与生态驱动力，我们整合了包含多个社会变量（如合作繁殖、社会纽带持续时间）的数据集，并纳入了物种的栖息地及觅食行为数据。我们采用贝叶斯系统发育分析（Bayesian phylogenetic analysis）检验数据中的潜在关联。研究发现，合作繁殖是鸟类发声库规模增大的显著预测因子；此外，我们还观察到若干更具针对性的效应。例如，觅食层位会影响发声库的规模与组成。综上，我们发现充分证据表明：社会特征影响发声库规模，而特定生态变量对发声库具有更具针对性的效应。