@article {53348, title = {Multimodal mother{\textendash}offspring recognition: the relative importance of sensory cues in a colonial mammal}, journal = {Animal Behaviour}, volume = {146}, year = {2018}, month = {Jan-12-2018}, pages = {135 - 142}, abstract = {

Animals often employ multiple sensory modalities for communication and recognition; however, the combination of sensory cues used by individuals in given contexts will vary. Although mother\–offspring recognition has been widely investigated and is known to be a multimodal process in gregarious mammal species, there is a dearth of information about the interactions between various sensory cues. Here we show how acoustic, olfactory and visual cues are used in a synergistic way in Australian sea lion, Neophoca cinerea, mother\–offspring recognition. We interpret the results using a cost\–benefit perspective to disentangle the evolutionary pressures on each component of this communication system. Although olfactory cues can convey individual identity information it was their presence, not their congruency, that prompted female sniffs. We found that calls needed to be from the female\&$\#$39;s own pup for the identification process to be successful, with the information encoded in acoustic cues overriding that of olfactory cues. Despite each sensory cue accurately conveying identity information when presented in isolation, in a multimodal setting their importance, function or role may change and seems to be driven by the costs and benefits of obtaining information resulting from the constraints imposed by the active space of cues.

}, keywords = {individual recognition, maternal behaviour, mother-offspring cues, multimodal communication, pinniped, sensory channels}, issn = {00033472}, doi = {10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.10.019}, url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0003347218303208https://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0003347218303208?httpAccept=text/xmlhttps://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0003347218303208?httpAccept=text/plain}, author = {Wierucka, Kaja and Pitcher, Benjamin J. and Harcourt, Robert and Charrier, Isabelle} } @article {52753, title = {The {\textquoteleft}hot male{\textquoteright} hypothesis: do female crickets prefer males with increased body temperature in mate choice scenarios?}, journal = {Animal Behaviour}, volume = {138}, year = {2018}, month = {Jan-04-2018}, pages = {75 - 84}, abstract = {

Insects have been extensively used as model systems to study mating preferences based on variation in acoustic signals. In many species, females perform phonotaxis towards attractive, long-range acoustic signals produced by males, whereas the final mating decision is based on an assessment of additional, multimodal, close-range cues. The production of acoustic signals is costly, because invested energy is inefficiently converted into acoustic power. Here, we investigated whether heat released as a by-product during song generation might serve as an additional cue during mate choice decisions. Males that broadcast highly energetic calling songs increased their thoracic temperature considerably above ambient temperatures. The use of this additional cue would turn the acoustic signal into an inherently bimodal one, indirectly indicating the quality of the sender. To test this hot male hypothesis, we performed trackball and Y-maze experiments with Anurogryllus muticus. For comparison, additional trackball experiments were conducted with Gryllus bimaculatus females. In all paradigms, females of both species showed no evidence of a preference for hot males and, therefore, we conclude that increases in thoracic temperature do not seem to play a role as a multimodal component in mate choice decisions in A. muticus.

}, keywords = {acoustic signals, Anurogryllus muticus, energy, Female choice, infrared thermography, male quality, multimodal communication, sexual selection, thermal cues, thoracic temperature increase}, issn = {00033472}, doi = {10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.02.007}, url = {http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0003347218300575}, author = {Erregger, Bettina and Hennig, R. Matthias} } @article {52571, title = {Complex signals and comparative mate assessment in wolf spiders: results from multimodal playback studies}, journal = {Animal Behaviour}, volume = {134}, year = {2017}, month = {Jan-12-2017}, pages = {283 - 299}, abstract = {

Complex signals of animals involve multiple sensory modes and contain multiple structural components, and teasing apart how these modes and components interact in receiver decision making is an experi- mental challenge. Females of many species have ordered preferences for increased size or expression of male indicator traits. However, studies also suggest other species may exhibit comparative evaluation of mates rather than absolute preference hierarchies. We examined mate assessment by female wolf spi- ders, Schizocosa ocreata, using digital playback of video and vibratory/seismic signals in preference and choice tests of male trait differences. In playback experiments, female wolf spiders showed ordered preferences for male condition indicating traits (leg tuft size, vibration signal amplitude) in both indi- vidual sensory modes and multimodal (combined) signals. Tests with single modes and multimodal signals showed that trait expression in either signal mode affects outcome of mate choice. Females exhibited transitive preferences, consistently choosing males with larger tuft size or higher amplitude vibration in no-choice and two-choice tests. Thus, female S. ocreata do not necessarily need to compare mates to exhibit preferences for particular traits. Choice tests with multimodal playback showed that females made predicted choices when male traits covaried positively, but in \‘cue-conflict\’ (negative trait covariance) choice tests, females showed a bias for visual signal trait expression (tuft size), displaying priority for visual signals over vibratory signals when in conflict. These studies demonstrate that under controlled experimental conditions, differences in behavioural responses to manipulation of digital video and vibration playback can provide valuable insights about recognition and interpretation of complex signals and their components.

}, keywords = {complex signals, Lycosidae, mate preference, multimodal communication, sexual selection, vibratory playback, video playback}, issn = {00033472}, doi = {10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.02.007}, url = {http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0003347217300441}, author = {Uetz, George W. and Stoffer, Brent and Lallo, Madeline M. and Clark, David L.} }