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Responses of intended and unintended receivers to a novel sexual signal suggest clandestine communication.

ABSTRACT: Inadvertent cues can be refined into signals through coevolution between signalers and receivers, yet the earliest steps in this process remain elusive. In Hawaiian populations of the Pacific field cricket, a new morph producing a novel and incredibly variable song (purring) has spread across islands. Here we characterize the current sexual and natural selection landscape acting on the novel signal by (1) determining fitness advantages of purring through attraction to mates and protection from a prominent deadly natural enemy, and (2) testing alternative hypotheses about the strength and form of selection acting on the novel signal. In field studies, female crickets respond positively to purrs, but eavesdropping parasitoid flies do not, suggesting purring may allow private communication among crickets. Contrary to the sensory bias and preference for novelty hypotheses, preference functions (selective pressure) are nearly flat, driven by extreme inter-individual variation in function shape. Our study offers a rare empirical test of the roles of natural and sexual selection in the earliest stages of signal evolution.

SUBMITTER: Tinghitella RM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7862365 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Responses of intended and unintended receivers to a novel sexual signal suggest clandestine communication.

Tinghitella Robin M RM Broder E Dale ED Gallagher James H JH Wikle Aaron W AW Zonana David M DM

Nature communications 20210204 1

Inadvertent cues can be refined into signals through coevolution between signalers and receivers, yet the earliest steps in this process remain elusive. In Hawaiian populations of the Pacific field cricket, a new morph producing a novel and incredibly variable song (purring) has spread across islands. Here we characterize the current sexual and natural selection landscape acting on the novel signal by (1) determining fitness advantages of purring through attraction to mates and protection from a ...[more]

PMID: 33542210

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Project description:BackgroundThe majority of patients desire all available prognostic information, but some physicians hesitate to discuss prognosis. The objective of the current study was to examine outcomes of prognostic disclosure among the parents of children with cancer.MethodsThe authors surveyed 353 parents of children with newly diagnosed cancer at 2 tertiary cancer centers, and each child's oncologist. Using multivariable logistic regression, the authors assessed associations between parental report of elements of prognosis discussions with the oncologist (quality of information/communication and prognostic disclosure) and potential consequences of these discussions (trust, hope, peace of mind, prognostic understanding, depression, and anxiety). Analyses were stratified by oncologist-reported prognosis.ResultsPrognostic disclosure was not found to be associated with increased parental anxiety, depression, or decreased hope. Among the parents of children with less favorable prognoses (<75% chance of cure), the receipt of high-quality information from the oncologist was associated with greater peace of mind (odds ratio [OR], 5.23; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.81-15.16) and communication-related hope (OR, 2.54; 95% CI, 1.00-6.40). High-quality oncologist communication style was associated with greater trust in the physician (OR, 2.45; 95% CI, 1.09-5.48) and hope (OR, 3.01; 95% CI, 1.26-7.19). Accurate prognostic understanding was less common among the parents of children with less favorable prognoses (OR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.17-0.88). Receipt of high-quality information, high-quality communication, and prognostic disclosure were not found to be significantly associated with more accurate prognostic understanding.ConclusionsThe results of the current study demonstrate no evidence that disclosure is associated with anxiety, depression, or decreased hope. Communication processes may increase peace of mind, trust, and hope. It remains unclear how best to enhance prognostic understanding. Cancer 2018;124:1232-41. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

Project description:BackgroundSexual selection theory predicts that females, being the limiting sex, invest less in courtship signals than males. However, when chemical signals are involved it is often the female that initiates mating by producing stimuli that inform about sex and/or receptivity. This apparent contradiction has been discussed in the literature as 'the female pheromone fallacy'. Because the release of chemical stimuli may not have evolved to elicit the male's courtship response, whether these female stimuli represent signals remains an open question. Using techniques to visualise and block release of urine, we studied the role of urine signals during fighting and mating interactions of crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus). Test individuals were blindfolded to exclude visual disturbance from dye release and artificial urine introduction.ResultsStaged female-male pairings during the reproductive season often resulted in male mating attempts. Blocking female urine release in such pairings prevented any male courtship behaviour. Artificial introduction of female urine re-established male mating attempts. Urine visualisation showed that female urine release coincides with aggressive behaviours but not with female submissive behaviour in reproductive interactions as well as in intersexual and intrasexual fights. In reproductive interactions, females predominately released urine during precopulatory aggression; males subsequently released significantly less urine during mating than in fights.ConclusionsUrine-blocking experiments demonstrate that female urine contains sex-specific components that elicit male mating behaviour. The coincidence of chemical signalling and aggressive behaviour in both females and males suggests that urine release has evolved as an aggressive signal in both sexes of crayfish. By limiting urine release to aggressive behaviours in reproductive interactions females challenge their potential mating partners at the same time as they trigger a sexual response. These double messages should favour stronger males that are able to overcome the resistance of the female. We conclude that the difference between the sexes in disclosing urine-borne information reflects their conflicting interests in reproduction. Males discontinue aggressive urine signalling in order to increase their chances of mating. Females resume urine signalling in connection with aggressive behaviour, potentially repelling low quality or sexually inactive males while favouring reproduction with high quality males.

Project description:IntroductionScotland is the first country to carry out a national implementation of minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol. MUP aims to reduce alcohol-related harms, which are high in Scotland compared with Western Europe, and to improve health equalities. MUP is a minimum retail price per unit of alcohol. That approach targets high-risk alcohol users. This work is key to a wider evaluation that will determine whether MUP continues. There are three study components.Methods and analysisComponent 1 sampled an estimated 2800 interviewees at a baseline and each of two follow-ups from four Emergency Departments in Scotland and Northern England. Research nurses administered a standardised survey to assess alcohol consumption and the proportion of attendances that were alcohol-related.Component 2 covered six Sexual Health Clinics with similar timings and country allocation. A self-completion survey gathered information on potential unintended effects of MUP on alcohol source and drug use.Using a natural experiment design and repeated cross-sectional audit, difference between Scotland (intervention) and North England (control) will be tested for outcomes using regression adjusting for differences at baseline. Differential impacts by age, gender and socioeconomic position will be investigated.Component 3 used focus groups with young people and heavy drinkers and interviews with stakeholders before and after MUP implementation. The focus groups will allow exploration of attitudes, experiences and behaviours and the potential mechanisms by which impacts arise. The interviews will help characterise the implementation process.Ethics and disseminationStudy components 1 and 2 have been ethically approved by the NHS, and component 3 by the University of Stirling. Dissemination plans include peer-reviewed journal articles, presentations, policy maker briefings and, in view of high public interest and the high political profile of this flagship policy, communication with the public via media engagement and plain language summaries.Trial registration numberISRCTN16039407; Pre-results.

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Responses of intended and unintended receivers to a novel sexual signal suggest clandestine communication.

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Responses of intended and unintended receivers to a novel sexual signal suggest clandestine communication.

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