Data from: Patterns of call communication between group-housed Zebra finches change during the breeding cycle

Vocal signals such as calls play a crucial role for survival and successful reproduction, especially in group-living animals. However, call interactions and call dynamics within groups remain largely unexplored because their relation to relevant contexts or life-history stages could not be studied with individual-level resolution. Using on-bird microphone transmitters, we recorded the vocalisations of individual zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) behaving freely in social groups, while females and males previously unknown to each other passed through different stages of the breeding cycle. As birds formed pairs and shifted their reproductive status, their call repertoire composition changed. The recordings revealed that calls occurred non-randomly in fine-tuned vocal interactions and decreased within groups while pair-specific patterns emerged. Call-type combinations of vocal interactions changed within pairs and were associated with successful egg-laying, highlighting a potential fitness relevance of calling dynamics in communication systems.

鸣唱（call）等发声信号对动物的生存与成功繁衍至关重要，在群居动物中这一作用尤为突出。然而，群体内的鸣唱互动与鸣唱动态仍未得到充分探索，原因在于过往研究无法以个体分辨率解析其与相关情境或生活史阶段的关联。本研究借助佩戴于鸟类体表的麦克风发射器，对自由群居的斑胸草雀（Taeniopygia guttata）个体的发声行为进行了录制，此时此前互不相识的雌雄个体正处于繁殖周期的不同阶段。随着鸟类配对形成并改变繁殖状态，其鸣唱曲目库的组成也随之发生变化。录制结果显示，鸣唱并非随机出现，而是存在精细调控的发声互动；随着配对专属的鸣唱模式逐渐显现，群体内的鸣唱频次有所降低。配对内部的发声互动鸣唱类型组合会发生变化，且与成功产卵存在关联，这凸显出鸣唱动态在通讯系统中潜在的适合度相关性。