Spezie Giovanni, Mann Dan C, Knoester Job, MacGillavry Thomas, Fusani Leonida
Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria.
Acoustics Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria.
R Soc Open Sci. 2024 Oct 23;11(10):232015. doi: 10.1098/rsos.232015. eCollection 2024 Oct.
Understanding sexual communication requires assessing the behaviour of both the sender and the receiver. Receiver responses to sexual displays carry relevant information, but such signals or cues may be subtle and therefore technically challenging to investigate. Here, we focus on receiver body movements in response to high-intensity courtship in spotted bowerbirds (). Male bowerbirds perform a vigorous courtship choreography on dedicated display structures-bowers. Bower owners tolerate other non-territorial males at their bowers, yet the courtship displays of these so-called 'subordinate' males rarely result in successful copulations. Males that display at high intensity are preferred by females in this species, yet excessively aggressive displays may be threatening, hence scaring prospective mates away. In this study, we hypothesized that bower owners are better able to exhibit high-intensity movements without startling their audience compared with subordinate males. To address this question, we used a combination of behavioural coding and AI-based tracking of body movements, which allows precise spatial and temporal resolution for the study of subtle behavioural responses. Contrary to our predictions, we found that bower owners evoked stronger startle responses than subordinate males. We discuss these unexpected results and suggest further experimental approaches for future investigations.
理解性交流需要评估发送者和接收者双方的行为。接收者对性展示的反应携带相关信息，但此类信号或线索可能很微妙，因此在技术上难以进行研究。在这里，我们聚焦于斑园丁鸟在面对高强度求偶行为时接收者的身体动作。雄性园丁鸟会在专门的展示结构——求偶亭上进行激烈的求偶舞蹈编排。求偶亭的主人会容忍其他非领地雄性在其求偶亭出现，然而这些所谓“从属”雄性的求偶展示很少能成功交配。在这个物种中，高强度展示的雄性更受雌性青睐，但过度激进的展示可能具有威胁性，从而吓跑潜在配偶。在本研究中，我们假设与从属雄性相比，求偶亭的主人在展示高强度动作时更不容易惊吓到观众。为解决这个问题，我们结合了行为编码和基于人工智能的身体动作追踪，这使得我们能够以精确的空间和时间分辨率来研究微妙的行为反应。与我们的预测相反，我们发现求偶亭的主人比从属雄性引发了更强的惊吓反应。我们讨论了这些意外结果，并为未来的研究提出了进一步的实验方法。
