Individual recognition and individual identity signals in Polistes fuscatus wasps vary geographically

2021 ◽  
Vol 176 ◽  
pp. 87-98
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Tibbetts ◽  
Christian Cely Ortiz ◽  
Giorgia G. Auteri ◽  
Meagan Simons ◽  
Michelle L. Fearon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Recognition ◽  
Individual Identity ◽  
Polistes Fuscatus

Note types and coding in parid vocalizations. I: The chick-a-dee call of the black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (5) ◽  
pp. 769-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Charrier ◽  
Laurie L Bloomfield ◽  
Christopher B Sturdy
Keyword(s):  
Individual Recognition ◽  
Individual Identity ◽  
Acoustic Cues ◽  
Acoustic Features ◽  
Poecile Atricapillus ◽  
Type Composition ◽  
Bioacoustic Analysis ◽  
Perceptual Abilities ◽  
Individual Specificity ◽  
Winter Flocks

The chick-a-dee call of the black-capped chickadee, Poecile atricapillus (L., 1766), consists of four note types and is used in a wide variety of contexts including mild alarm, contact between mates, and for mobilizing members of winter flocks. Because note-type composition varies with context and because birds need to identify flock mates and individuals by their calls, it is important that birds are able to discriminate between note types and birds. Moreover, previous experiments have shown that black-capped chickadees are able to discriminate their four note types, but the acoustical basis of this process is still unknown. Here, we present the results of a bioacoustic analysis that suggests which acoustic features may be controlling the birds' perception of note types and of individual identity. Several acoustic features show high note type and individual specificity, but frequency and frequency modulation cues (in particular, those of the initial part of the note) appear more likely to be used in these processes. However, only future experiments testing the bird's perceptual abilities will determine which acoustic cues in particular are used in the discrimination of note types and in individual recognition.

Acoustic cues to individual identity in the rattle calls of common blackbirds: a potential for individual recognition through multi-syllabic vocalisations emitted in both territorial and alarm contexts

Behaviour ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 152 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charline Couchoux ◽  
Torben Dabelsteen
Keyword(s):  
Individual Recognition ◽  
Dual Function ◽  
Individual Identity ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Bird Calls ◽  
Vocal Signals ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Types Of Information ◽  
Common Blackbird

Vocal signals convey many types of information, and individually recognizable cues can benefit signallers and receivers, as shown in birdsongs that are used in the contexts of mating and territoriality. Bird calls are typically less complex than songs and thus are likely to convey less information. However, the rattle calls of some species serve a dual function, being emitted as an anti-predator and deterrence signal, and thus may encode information on individual identity. We investigated these questions in the common blackbird (Turdus merula), which emits complex rattle calls in both territorial and alarm contexts. The vocalisations of free-living males were elicited and recorded by playing back songs of unknown males in birds’ territories (territorial context) and also while approaching individuals (predator context). These song-like highly-structured multi-syllabic calls typically had three types of elements. Acoustic and statistical analyses revealed, through elevated repeatability indexes, that most of the acoustic measurements used to describe the complexity of the calls (structural, temporal and frequency parameters) were highly variable, due to inter-individual differences. The size of the call and the characteristics of the starting element only were able to discriminate a high portion of the individual calls. Beyond the very well studied songs of oscines, calls therefore deserve more attention as they also carry a potential for conveying information on individual identity.

scholarly journals Socially foraging bats discriminate between group members based on search-phase echolocation calls

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 1103-1112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenna E Kohles ◽  
Gerald G Carter ◽  
Rachel A Page ◽  
Dina K N Dechmann
Keyword(s):  
Individual Recognition ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Social Information ◽  
Individual Identity ◽  
Foraging Success ◽  
Playback Experiments ◽  
Echolocation Calls ◽  
Individual Discrimination ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Molossus Molossus

Abstract Animals have evolved diverse strategies to use social information for increasing foraging success and efficiency. Echolocating bats, for example, can eavesdrop on bats foraging nearby because they shift from search-phase calls to feeding buzzes when they detect prey. Feeding buzzes can directly convey information about prey presence, but it is unknown whether search-phase calls also convey social information. Here, we investigated whether search-phase echolocation calls, distinct calls produced by some bat species to scan large open areas for prey, can additionally convey individual identity. We tested this in Molossus molossus, a neotropical insectivorous bat that forages with group members, presumably to find ephemeral insect swarms more efficiently. We caught M. molossus from six different social groups and recorded their search-phase calls during a standardized release procedure, then recaptured and tested 19 marked bats with habituation–dishabituation playback experiments. We showed that they can discriminate between group members based on search-phase calls, and our statistical analysis of call parameters supported the presence of individual signatures in search-phase calls. Individual discrimination is a prerequisite of individual recognition, which may allow M. molossus to maintain contact with group members while foraging without using specialized signals for communication.

scholarly journals Long-term memory of individual identity in ant queens

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 459-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Dreier ◽  
Jelle S van Zweden ◽  
Patrizia D'Ettorre
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Individual Recognition ◽  
Evolution Of Cooperation ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Individual Identity ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Cost ◽  
First Time

Remembering individual identities is part of our own everyday social life. Surprisingly, this ability has recently been shown in two social insects. While paper wasps recognize each other individually through their facial markings, the ant, Pachycondyla villosa , uses chemical cues. In both species, individual recognition is adaptive since it facilitates the maintenance of stable dominance hierarchies among individuals, and thus reduces the cost of conflict within these small societies. Here, we investigated individual recognition in Pachycondyla ants by quantifying the level of aggression between pairs of familiar or unfamiliar queens over time. We show that unrelated founding queens of P. villosa and Pachycondyla inversa store information on the individual identity of other queens and can retrieve it from memory after 24 h of separation. Thus, we have documented for the first time that long-term memory of individual identity is present and functional in ants. This novel finding represents an advance in our understanding of the mechanism determining the evolution of cooperation among unrelated individuals.

scholarly journals Color is necessary for specialized face learning in the Northern paper wasp, Polistes fuscatus

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Jernigan ◽  
Jay A Stafstrom ◽  
Natalie C Zaba ◽  
Caleb C Vogt ◽  
Michael J Sheehan
Keyword(s):  
Brain Region ◽  
Individual Recognition ◽  
Color Images ◽  
Paper Wasp ◽  
Facial Features ◽  
Grayscale Image ◽  
Color Patterns ◽  
Polistes Fuscatus ◽  
Chromatic Processing ◽  
Better Than

Visual individual recognition requires animals to distinguish among conspecifics based on appearance. Though visual individual recognition has been reported in a range of taxa, the features that animals rely on to discriminate between individuals are often not well understood. Northern paper wasp females, Polistes fuscatus, possess individually distinctive color patterns on their faces, which mediate individual recognition. It is currently unclear what facial features P. fuscatus use to distinguish individuals. The anterior optic tubercle, a chromatic processing brain region, is especially sensitive to social experience during development, suggesting that color may be important for recognition in this species. We sought to test the roles of color in wasp facial recognition. Color may be important simply because it creates a pattern. If this is the case, then wasps should perform similarly when discriminating color or grayscale images of the same faces. Alternatively, color itself may be important for recognition, which would predict poorer performance on grayscale image discrimination relative to color images. We found wasps trained on grayscale faces, unlike those trained on color images, did not perform better than chance. Suggesting that color is necessary for the recognition of an image as a face by the wasp visual system.

scholarly journals Who’s your neighbor? Acoustic cues to individual identity in red squirrel Tamiasciurus hudsonicus rattle calls

2012 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 758-764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon M. Digweed ◽  
Drew Rendall ◽  
Teana Imbeau
Keyword(s):  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Individual Recognition ◽  
Individual Identification ◽  
Tamiasciurus Hudsonicus ◽  
Individual Identity ◽  
Acoustic Cues ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Red Squirrels

Abstract North American red squirrels Tamiasciurus hudsonicus often produce a loud territorial rattle call when conspecifics enter or invade a territory. Previous playback experiments suggest that the territorial rattle call may indicate an invader’s identity as squirrels responded more intensely to calls played from strangers than to calls played from neighbors. This dear-enemy effect is well known in a variety of bird and mammal species and functions to reduce aggressive interactions between known neighbors. However, although previous experiments on red squirrels suggest some form of individual differentiation and thus recognition, detailed acoustic analysis of potential acoustic cues in rattle calls have not been conducted. If calls function to aid in conspecific identification in order to mitigate aggressive territorial interactions, we would expect that individual recognition cues would be acoustically represented. Our work provides a detailed analysis of acoustic cues to identity within rattle calls. A total of 225 calls across 32 individual squirrels from Sheep River Provincial Park, Kananaskis, AB, Canada, were analyzed with discriminant function analysis for potential acoustic cues to individual identity. Initial analysis of all individuals revealed a reliable acoustic differentiation across individuals. A more detailed analysis of clusters of neighboring squirrels was performed and results again indicated a statistically significant likelihood that calls were assigned correctly to specific squirrels (55%-75% correctly assigned); in other words squirrels have distinct voices that should allow for individual identification and discrimination by conspecifics.

scholarly journals Individual vocal signatures show reduced complexity following invasion

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace Smith-Vidaurre ◽  
Valeria Perez ◽  
Timothy F. Wright
Keyword(s):  
Population Size ◽  
Frequency Modulation ◽  
Individual Recognition ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Supervised Machine Learning ◽  
Individual Identity ◽  
Invasive Range ◽  
Myiopsitta Monachus ◽  
Vocal Signatures

AbstractThe manner in which vocal learning is used for social recognition may be sensitive to the social environment. Biological invaders capable of vocal learning are useful for testing this possibility, as invasion alters population size. If vocal learning is used for individual recognition, then individual identity should be encoded in frequency modulation patterns of acoustic signals. Furthermore, frequency modulation patterns should be more complex in larger social groups, reflecting greater selection for individual distinctiveness. We compared social group sizes and used supervised machine learning and frequency contours to compare contact call structure between native range monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) in Uruguay and invasive range populations in the U.S. Invasive range sites exhibited fewer nests and simpler frequency modulation patterns. Beecher’s statistic revealed reduced individual identity content and fewer possible unique individual signatures in invasive range calls. Lower estimated social densities and simpler individual signatures are consistent with relaxed selection on the complexity of calls learned for individual recognition in smaller social groups. These findings run counter to the traditional view that vocal learning is used for imitation, and suggest that vocal learning can be employed to produce individual vocal signatures in a manner sensitive to local population size.

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