Fluctuations in neighbourhood fertility generate variable signaling effort

Studies of sexual signalling generally focus on interactions between dyadic pairs, yet communication in natural populations often occurs in the context of complex social networks. The ability to survey social environments and adjust signal production appropriately should be a critical component of success in these systems, but has rarely been documented empirically. Here, we used autonomous recording devices to identify 118 472 songs produced by 26 male common yellowthroats (Geothlypis trichas) over two breeding seasons, coupled with detailed surveys of social conditions on each territory. We found strong evidence that common yellowthroat males adjusted their total song production in response to both changes in within-pair social context and changes in the fertility of neighbouring females up to 400 m away. Within the social pair, males drastically reduced their song production when mated, but the magnitude of this reduction depended on both the time of day and on the fertility status o...性信号传递研究通常聚焦于二元配对间的互动，但自然种群中的交流往往发生在复杂社交网络的语境之下。在这类系统中，探查社交环境并适当调整信号产出的能力本应是繁殖成功的关键要素，但相关实证记录却极为匮乏。本研究中，我们使用自主录音设备，识别了26只雄性普通黄喉地莺（Geothlypis trichas）在两个繁殖季内产出的118472首鸣曲，并对每块领地的社交状况开展了详尽调查。我们发现充分证据表明，雄性普通黄喉地莺会根据配对内部社交环境的变化，以及最远400米外邻近雌性的繁殖状态变化，调整其总鸣曲产出量。在配对社交关系中，雄性在成功配对后会大幅减少鸣曲产出，但这种减少的幅度同时取决于当日时段与雌性的繁殖状态……