Distinct song parts of the endemic marsh grassbird of China vary with latitude and climate among migratory and sedentary populations

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• 作者：Xiaoying Xing ; Hans Slabbekoorn ; James Campbell ; Feng Li…
• 关键词：Birdsong divergence ; Bird migration ; Latitudinal gradient ; Locustella pryeri sinensis ; Meme flow ; WorldClim
• 刊名：Evolutionary Ecology
• 出版年：2017
• 出版时间：February 2017
• 年：2017
• 卷：31
• 期：1
• 页码：63-76
• 全文大小：1325KB
• 刊物类别：Biomedical and Life Sciences
• 刊物主题：Evolutionary Biology; Ecology; Plant Sciences; Animal Ecology;
• 出版者：Springer International Publishing
• ISSN：1573-8477
• 卷排序：31

文摘

Birdsong can act as a premating barrier to gene flow through its role in mate attraction and territorial defence. The link between geographic variation in song structure and ecological factors is key to the process of acoustically guided population divergence and isolation. Migratory behaviour is an example of such an ecological factor. In this study, we asked whether latitude and climate can explain song variation among migratory and sedentary populations of the marsh grassbird (Locustella pryeri sinensis), a rare songbird endemic of wetlands of eastern and northeastern China. We investigated two structurally different song parts: a repeating trill part followed by a more variable warble part. We found significant variation in acoustic structure and distinct divergence patterns between the two song parts across a latitudinal gradient and strong acoustic correlations with several bioclimatic variables. The trill part showed an increase in maximum frequency with latitude and the warble part became longer with fewer element types towards three higher latitude, migratory populations. These patterns are in line with a dual function of both song parts, increased sexual selection pressure at higher latitude and a complex impact of climate on song through vegetation and weather conditions.