Data from: Signal architecture: temporal variability and individual consistency of multiple sexually selected signals

1. Multiple signals should be favored when the benefit of additional signals outweigh their costs. Despite increased attention on multiple-signaling systems, few studies have focused on signal architecture to understand the potential information content of multiple signals. 2. To understand the patterns of signal plasticity and consistency over the lifetime of individuals we conducted a longitudinal study of multiple signals known to be under sexual selection in male lark buntings, Calamospiza melanocorys. 3. Within years, we found extensive among-individual variation in all four plumage ornaments we measured. Surprisingly, there were few correlations among these signals, suggesting that individuals contain a mosaic of signals. Signals were only moderately repeatable across years, which indicates some signal plasticity or age related change. In some years, the direction of change in particular signals relative to the previous year was consistent for most individuals in the population, suggesting that broad scale ecological factors affected the ornament phenotype. Different ornaments were affected by different ecological or social factors because the population-wide shift in a given signal was independent of change in other signals. 4. Our combined results suggest that different signals—including different components of the same color patch in some cases—provide diverse and independent information about the individual to signal receivers in the context of sexual selection.1. 当额外信号的收益超过其成本时，应优先选择多信号传递策略。尽管学界对多信号系统（multiple-signaling systems）的关注度日益提升，但鲜有研究聚焦于信号架构（signal architecture）以解析多信号所蕴含的潜在信息含量。 2. 为解析个体生命周期内信号可塑性（signal plasticity）与一致性的变化模式，我们针对已知受性选择（sexual selection）作用的雄性云雀鹀（Calamospiza melanocorys）的多信号开展了一项纵向研究。 3. 在同一年度内，我们在测量的全部4种羽饰中均发现了显著的个体间变异。令人意外的是，这些信号间几乎不存在相关性，这表明个体的信号系统呈现镶嵌分布特征。信号在年度间仅表现出中度可重复性，这提示存在一定程度的信号可塑性或年龄相关的性状变化。在部分年度中，特定信号相较于上一年度的变化方向在种群多数个体中保持一致，这表明大范围生态因子会对饰羽表型产生影响。不同的羽饰受不同生态或社会因子的调控，因为某一信号的种群水平变化与其他信号的变化相互独立。 4. 综合上述研究结果可知，在性选择场景下，不同信号（在部分案例中甚至包括同一块色斑区域的不同组成部分）能够向信号接收者传递关于个体的多样化且相互独立的信息。