Data from: Dynamic changes in display architecture and function across environments revealed by a systems approach to animal communication

Animal communication is often structurally complex and dynamic, with signaler and receiver behavior varying in response to multiple environmental factors. To date, studies assessing signal dynamics have mostly focused on the relationships between select signaling traits and receiver responses in a single environment. We use the wolf spider Schizocosa floridana to explore the relationships between courtship display form and function across two social contexts (female presence vs. absence) and two light environments (light vs. dark). We use traditional analytical methods to determine predictors of copulation success (i.e., signal function) and examine these predictors in a structural context by overlaying them on signal phenotype networks (Wilkins et al., 2015). This allows us to explore system design principles (degeneracy, redundancy, pluripotentiality), providing insight into hypotheses regarding complex signal evolution. We found that both social context and light environment affect courtship structure, although the predictors of mating success remain similar across light environments, suggesting system degeneracy. Contrastingly, the same display traits may serve different functions across social environments, suggesting pluripotentiality. Ultimately, our network approach uncovers a complexity in display structure and function that is missed by functional analyses alone, highlighting the importance of systems-based methodologies for understanding the dynamic nature of complex signals.

动物通讯往往在结构上兼具复杂性与动态性，信号发送者与接收者的行为会随多种环境因素的变化而发生改变。迄今为止，针对信号动态性的研究大多聚焦于单一环境下，特定信号特征与接收者反应之间的关联。本研究以佛罗里达裂爪狼蛛（Schizocosa floridana）为实验对象，探究两种社会情境（存在雌性vs. 不存在雌性）与两种光照环境（有光vs. 无光）下，求偶展示的形式与功能之间的关联。我们采用传统分析方法，明确了影响交配成功率（即信号功能）的预测因子，并通过将这些因子叠加至信号表型网络（Wilkins等，2015）中，在结构层面上对这些预测因子进行检验。这使得我们得以探究系统设计原则（简并性、冗余性与多能性），为理解复杂信号进化的相关假说提供了全新视角。研究结果显示，社会情境与光照环境均会影响求偶展示的结构；尽管不同光照环境下，影响交配成功的预测因子大体一致，这表明系统存在简并性。与之相反，同一展示特征在不同社会情境中可能承担不同功能，这体现了多能性。最终，我们的网络分析方法揭示了仅通过功能分析无法察觉的展示结构与功能的复杂性，凸显了基于系统的研究方法对于理解复杂信号动态本质的重要意义。