Sounds of senescence: Male swamp sparrows respond less aggressively to the song of older individuals

Age-related changes in assessment signals occur in a diverse array of animals, including humans. Age-related decline in vocal quality in humans is known to affect perceived attractiveness by potential mates and voters, but whether such changes have functional implications for non-human animals is poorly understood. Most studies of age-related change in animal signals focus on increases in signal quality that occur soon after the age of first breeding (“delayed maturation”), but a few have shown that signal quality declines in older individuals after a mid-life peak (“behavioral senescence”). Whether other individuals are able to detect this senescent decline of assessment signals has not previously been tested. Here we use playback experiments to show that wild male swamp sparrows (Melospiza georgiana) respond more aggressively to songs from two-year-old males as compared to songs from the same males when they are ten years old. Senescence in signals that, like birdsong, affect reproductive success though intra-sexual competition or mate choice may be of evolutionary significance.