Prior Nora H, Smith Edward, Dooling Robert J, Ball Gregory F
Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
Integr Org Biol. 2020 Dec 26;2(1):obaa034. doi: 10.1093/iob/obaa034. eCollection 2020.
Research on monogamy has largely focused on marked behaviors that are unique to pair bonded partners. However, these marked behaviors represent only a subset of the pair-directed behaviors that partners engage in; the influence of pair bonding on mundane or subtle social interactions among partners remains largely unknown. In this study, we describe the changes that occur during brief social reunions (or greets) over the course of pair bonding in zebra finches. We quantified pair-directed behavior during 5-min reunions from three stages of pair bonding: initial pairing (between 4 and 72 h), early pairing (1-2 weeks), and late pairing (>1 month). These social interactions were operationalized in multiple ways. First, we quantified the overall activity levels (call and movement rates) for both the male and female. Overall, females were more active than males, but for both males and females calling activity was highest at initial pairing. We quantified behavioral coordination between partners in two ways: (1) similarity in call and movement rates between partners and (2) temporal synchrony of calls and movements between partners (via sliding correlation coefficients of time-stamped calls and movements). Overall, there were no effects of pairing stage on behavioral coordination. Finally, we used principal component analyses to disentangle behavioral coordination from the activity levels of the male and female. These results contribute to a growing line of evidence that male and female zebra finches differentially contribute to social dynamics and highlight the influence of pair bonding on the development of social dynamics. Furthermore, our preliminary analyses raise the hypothesis that behavioral coordination during the earliest phases of pairing is modulated by the extent and nature of prior experience. Overall, while behavioral coordination is clearly important for many salient interactions such as duetting, courtship displays, and biparental care, the significance of mundane social interactions for monogamous partnerships remains largely unknown.
对一夫一妻制的研究主要集中在配偶关系中伴侣所特有的显著行为上。然而，这些显著行为仅代表伴侣间所进行的伴侣导向行为的一个子集；伴侣关系对伴侣间日常或微妙社交互动的影响在很大程度上仍不为人知。在本研究中，我们描述了斑胸草雀在伴侣关系形成过程中短暂社交团聚（或问候）期间所发生的变化。我们对伴侣关系三个阶段（初始配对（4至72小时之间）、早期配对（1至2周）和晚期配对（超过1个月））的5分钟团聚期间的伴侣导向行为进行了量化。这些社交互动通过多种方式进行操作化。首先，我们对雄性和雌性的总体活动水平（鸣叫和移动频率）进行了量化。总体而言，雌性比雄性更活跃，但对于雄性和雌性来说，鸣叫活动在初始配对时最高。我们通过两种方式对伴侣间的行为协调性进行了量化：（1）伴侣间鸣叫和移动频率的相似性，以及（2）伴侣间鸣叫和移动的时间同步性（通过带时间戳的鸣叫和移动的滑动相关系数）。总体而言，配对阶段对行为协调性没有影响。最后，我们使用主成分分析将行为协调性与雄性和雌性的活动水平区分开来。这些结果为越来越多的证据提供了补充，表明雄性和雌性斑胸草雀对社交动态的贡献不同，并突出了伴侣关系对社交动态发展的影响。此外，我们的初步分析提出了一个假设，即配对最早阶段的行为协调性受到先前经验的程度和性质的调节。总体而言，虽然行为协调性对于许多显著互动（如二重唱、求偶展示和双亲照料）显然很重要，但日常社交互动对一夫一妻制伴侣关系的重要性在很大程度上仍不为人知。
