Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
Proc Biol Sci. 2018 Apr 25;285(1877). doi: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0090.
Advertisement displays often seem extravagant and expensive, and are thought to depend on the body condition of a signaller. Nevertheless, we know little about how signallers adjust effort based on condition, and few studies find a strong relationship between natural variation in condition and display. To examine the relationship between body condition and signal elaboration more fully, we characterized physiological condition and acoustic displays in a wild rodent with elaborate vocalizations, Alston's singing mouse, We found two major axes of variation in condition-one defined by short-term fluctuations in caloric nutrients, and a second by longer-term variation in adiposity. Among acoustic parameters, song effort was characterized by high rates of display and longer songs. Song effort was highly correlated with measures of adiposity. We found that leptin was a particularly strong predictor of display effort. Leptin is known to influence investment in other costly traits, such as immune function and reproduction. Plasma hormone levels convey somatic state to a variety of tissues, and may govern trait investment across vertebrates. Such measures offer new insights into how animals translate body condition into behavioural and life-history decisions.
广告展示往往看起来既奢侈又昂贵，而且被认为依赖于信号发送者的身体状况。然而，我们对信号发送者如何根据自身状况调整努力程度知之甚少，也很少有研究发现状况的自然变化与展示之间有很强的关系。为了更全面地研究身体状况与信号表达之间的关系，我们对一种具有复杂叫声的野生啮齿动物——阿尔斯顿鸣鼠的生理状况和声音展示进行了描述。我们发现，状况存在两个主要的变化轴——一个由短期热量营养波动定义，另一个由长期脂肪变化定义。在声音参数中，歌曲的努力程度表现为高频率的展示和更长的歌曲。歌曲的努力程度与肥胖程度的测量值高度相关。我们发现瘦素是展示努力的一个特别强的预测因子。瘦素已知会影响其他昂贵特征的投资，如免疫功能和繁殖。血浆激素水平将身体状态传达给各种组织，并可能控制脊椎动物的特征投资。这些措施为动物如何将身体状况转化为行为和生活史决策提供了新的见解。
