Bian Xue, Zhao Wei, Qi Yin, Peters Richard
Gansu Key Laboratory of Biomonitoring and Bioremediation for Environmental Pollution, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
Biodiversity Conservation Centre, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Integr Zool. 2025 Jan 16. doi: 10.1111/1749-4877.12943.
Animal signals are complex, comprising multiple components influenced by ecological factors and viewing perspectives that together impact their overall effectiveness. Our study explores how these factors affect the efficacy of multi-component signals in the Qinghai toad-headed agama, Phrynocephalus vlangalii. Using 3D animations, we simulated natural environments to evaluate how tail coiling and tail lashing-two primary tail displays-vary in effectiveness from both conspecific and predator perspectives under different ecological conditions. Baseline comparisons showed no significant difference in effectiveness between tail coiling and tail lashing without environmental constraints, though side-on tail coiling was consistently more effective than front-on displays. When noise proximity was introduced, tail lashing was more effective when the noise source was nearby, but this advantage diminished with distance. Conversely, tail coiling maintained consistent effectiveness across varying noise proximities, especially from a side-on view. In complex habitats with diverse plant species and varying wind conditions, tail lashing proved more effective, particularly from a front-on perspective, while tail coiling excelled from a side-on view. From a predator's perspective, tail lashing was slightly more effective under low wind conditions at close distances, though its visibility decreased with higher wind speeds. These findings highlight the adaptive significance of multi-component signals and the critical role of signal orientation in enhancing communication. This research offers insights into the evolutionary pressures shaping animal communication strategies.
动物信号很复杂，由受生态因素和观察视角影响的多个成分组成，这些因素共同影响其整体有效性。我们的研究探讨了这些因素如何影响青海沙蜥（Phrynocephalus vlangalii）多成分信号的功效。我们使用3D动画模拟自然环境，以评估卷尾和摆尾这两种主要的尾部展示行为，在不同生态条件下，从同种个体和捕食者的视角来看，其有效性是如何变化的。基线比较表明，在没有环境限制的情况下，卷尾和摆尾的有效性没有显著差异，不过从侧面进行卷尾展示始终比正面展示更有效。当引入噪音源时，当噪音源靠近时摆尾更有效，但这种优势会随着距离的增加而减弱。相反，卷尾在不同的噪音接近度下都保持着一致的有效性，尤其是从侧面观察时。在具有多种植物物种和不同风况的复杂栖息地中，摆尾被证明更有效，特别是从正面观察时，而卷尾从侧面观察时表现出色。从捕食者的角度来看，在低风速近距离条件下，摆尾略为有效，不过随着风速增加其可见性会降低。这些发现突出了多成分信号的适应性意义以及信号方向在增强交流方面的关键作用。这项研究为塑造动物交流策略的进化压力提供了见解。
