Pillay Neville, Rymer Tasmin L
School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, South Africa.
Behav Processes. 2012 Nov;91(3):223-35. doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2012.08.006. Epub 2012 Sep 6.
Behavioural compatibility between mates is fundamental for maintaining species boundaries and is achieved through appropriate communication between males and females. A breakdown in communication will lead to behavioural divergence and reduced interfertility. In this review, we summarise the current knowledge on male signals and female perception of these signals, integrating the literature from several taxa. We advocate that signaller-perceiver coevolution, which is usually under strong stabilising selection to enable mating, forms the basis of species-specific mate recognition systems. The mechanisms (phylogeny, geography, ecology, biology) shaping signaller-perceiver systems are briefly discussed to demonstrate the factors underpinning the evolution of signaller-perceiver couplings. Since divergence and diversification of communication systems is driven by changes in the mechanical properties of sensory pathways and morphology of sensory organs, we highlight signal modalities (auditory, olfactory, visual, tactile) and their importance in communication, particularly in mate selection. Next, using available examples and generating a stylised model, we suggest how disruption (biological, ecological, stochastic) of signaller-perceiver systems drives behavioural divergence and consequently results in reduced interfertility and speciation. Future studies should adopt an integrative approach, combining multiple parameters (phylogeny, adaptive utility of communication systems, genetics and biomechanical/biochemical properties of signals and perception) to explore how disruption of signaller-perceiver systems results in behavioural divergence and reduced interfertility. Finally, we question the impact that rapid environmental change will have on disruption of communication systems, potentially interfering with signaller-perceiver couplings.
配偶之间的行为兼容性是维持物种界限的基础，并且是通过雌雄之间适当的交流来实现的。交流中断会导致行为差异和生育力下降。在这篇综述中，我们总结了关于雄性信号以及雌性对这些信号的感知的现有知识，整合了来自多个分类群的文献。我们主张信号发送者 - 接收者的共同进化——通常在强大的稳定选择下以实现交配——构成了物种特异性配偶识别系统的基础。简要讨论了塑造信号发送者 - 接收者系统的机制（系统发育、地理、生态、生物学），以展示支撑信号发送者 - 接收者耦合进化的因素。由于通讯系统的分化和多样化是由感觉通路的机械特性和感觉器官形态的变化驱动的，我们强调了信号模态（听觉、嗅觉、视觉、触觉）及其在通讯中的重要性，特别是在配偶选择方面。接下来，我们利用现有的例子并构建一个程式化模型，提出信号发送者 - 接收者系统的破坏（生物、生态、随机）如何驱动行为差异，进而导致生育力下降和物种形成。未来的研究应该采用综合方法，结合多个参数（系统发育、通讯系统的适应性效用、信号和感知的遗传学以及生物力学/生物化学特性）来探索信号发送者 - 接收者系统的破坏如何导致行为差异和生育力下降。最后，我们质疑快速的环境变化将对通讯系统的破坏产生何种影响，这可能会干扰信号发送者 - 接收者的耦合。
