Dataset Information

Synchronization of speed, sound and iridescent color in a hummingbird aerial courtship dive.

ABSTRACT: Many animal signals are complex, often combining multimodal components with dynamic motion. To understand the function and evolution of these displays, it is vital to appreciate their spatiotemporal organization. Male broad-tailed hummingbirds (Selasphorus platycercus) perform dramatic U-shaped courtship dives over females, appearing to combine rapid movement and dive-specific mechanical noises with visual signals from their iridescent gorgets. To understand how motion, sound and color interact in these spectacular displays, we obtained video and audio recordings of dives performed by wild hummingbirds. We then applied a multi-angle imaging technique to estimate how a female would perceive the male's iridescent gorget throughout the dive. We show that the key physical, acoustic and visual aspects of the dive are remarkably synchronized-all occurring within 300 milliseconds. Our results highlight the critical importance of accounting for motion and orientation when investigating animal displays: speed and trajectory affect how multisensory signals are produced and perceived.

SUBMITTER: Hogan BG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6299134 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Synchronization of speed, sound and iridescent color in a hummingbird aerial courtship dive.

Hogan Benedict G BG Stoddard Mary Caswell MC

Nature communications 20181218 1

Many animal signals are complex, often combining multimodal components with dynamic motion. To understand the function and evolution of these displays, it is vital to appreciate their spatiotemporal organization. Male broad-tailed hummingbirds (Selasphorus platycercus) perform dramatic U-shaped courtship dives over females, appearing to combine rapid movement and dive-specific mechanical noises with visual signals from their iridescent gorgets. To understand how motion, sound and color interact ...[more]

PMID: 30563977

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Project description:The present day distribution and spatial genetic diversity of Mesoamerican biota reflects a long history of responses to habitat change. The hummingbird Lampornis amethystinus is distributed in northern Mesoamerica, with geographically disjunct populations. Based on sampling across the species range using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences and nuclear microsatellites jointly analysed with phenotypic and climatic data, we (1) test whether the fragmented distribution is correlated with main evolutionary lineages, (2) assess body size and plumage color differentiation of populations in geographic isolation, and (3) evaluate a set of divergence scenarios and demographic patterns of the hummingbird populations. Analysis of genetic variation revealed four main groups: blue-throated populations (Sierra Madre del Sur); two groups of amethyst-throated populations (Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt and Sierra Madre Oriental); and populations east of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (IT) with males showing an amethyst throat. The most basal split is estimated to have originated in the Pleistocene, 2.39-0.57 million years ago (MYA), and corresponded to groups of populations separated by the IT. However, the estimated recent divergence time between blue- and amethyst-throated populations does not correspond to the 2-MY needed to be in isolation for substantial plumage divergence, likely because structurally iridescent colors are more malleable than others. Results of species distribution modeling and Approximate Bayesian Computation analysis fit a model of lineage divergence west of the Isthmus after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), and that the species' suitable habitat was disjunct during past and current conditions. These results challenge the generality of the contraction/expansion glacial model to cloud forest-interior species and urges management of cloud forest, a highly vulnerable ecosystem to climate change and currently facing destruction, to prevent further loss of genetic diversity or extinction.

Dataset Information

Synchronization of speed, sound and iridescent color in a hummingbird aerial courtship dive.

Publications

Synchronization of speed, sound and iridescent color in a hummingbird aerial courtship dive.

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