scholarly journals Imperfect synchrony in animal displays: why does it occur and what is the true role of leadership?

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1835) ◽  
pp. 20200339
Author(s):  
Daniela M. Perez ◽  
Cristian L. Klunk ◽  
Sabrina B. L. Araujo
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Fiddler Crab ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
Behavioural Ecology ◽  
Male Quality ◽  
Male Size ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Stable Strategy ◽  
The Brain

Synchrony can be defined as the precise coordination between independent individuals, and this behaviour is more enigmatic when it is imperfect. The traditional theoretical explanation for imperfect synchronous courtship is that it arises as a by-product of the competition between males to broadcast leading signals to attract female attention. This competition is considered an evolutionary stable strategy maintained through sexual selection. However, previous studies have revealed that leading signals are not honest indicators of male quality. We studied imperfect courtship synchrony in fiddler crabs to mainly test whether (i) signal leadership and rate are defined by male quality and (ii) signal leadership generates synchrony. Fiddler crab males wave their enlarged claws during courtship, and females prefer leading males—displaying ahead of their neighbour(s). We filmed groups of waving males in the field to detect how often individuals were leaders and if they engaged in synchrony. Overall, we found that courtship effort is not directly related to male size, a general proxy for quality. Contrary to the long-standing assumption, we also revealed that leadership is not directly related to group synchrony, but faster wave rate correlates with both leadership and synchrony. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology’.

scholarly journals Social synchronization of circadian rhythms with a focus on honeybees

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1835) ◽  
pp. 20200342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Siehler ◽  
Shuo Wang ◽  
Guy Bloch
Keyword(s):  
Circadian Rhythms ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Good Evidence ◽  
Circadian Clocks ◽  
Self Organization ◽  
Behavioural Ecology ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Social Time ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Organization Models

Many animals benefit from synchronizing their daily activities with conspecifics. In this hybrid paper, we first review recent literature supporting and extending earlier evidence for a lack of clear relationship between the level of sociality and social entrainment of circadian rhythms. Social entrainment is specifically potent in social animals that live in constant environments in which some or all individuals do not experience the ambient day-night cycles. We next focus on highly social honeybees in which there is good evidence that social cues entrain the circadian clocks of nest bees and can override the influence of conflicting light-dark cycles. The current understanding of social synchronization in honeybees is consistent with self-organization models in which surrogates of forager activity, such as substrate-borne vibrations and colony volatiles, entrain the circadian clocks of bees dwelling in the dark cavity of the nest. Finally, we present original findings showing that social synchronization is effective even in an array of individually caged callow bees placed on the same substrate and is improved for bees in connected cages. These findings reveal remarkable sensitivity to social time-giving cues and show that bees with attenuated rhythms (weak oscillators) can nevertheless be socially synchronized to a common phase of activity. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology’.

scholarly journals Rhythm interaction in animal groups: selective attention in communication networks

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1835) ◽  
pp. 20200338
Author(s):  
Michael D. Greenfield ◽  
Ikkyu Aihara ◽  
Guy Amichay ◽  
Marianna Anichini ◽  
Vivek Nityananda
Keyword(s):  
Selective Attention ◽  
Communication Networks ◽  
Behavioural Ecology ◽  
Basic Process ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Animal Groups ◽  
Extended Families ◽  
Timing Mechanisms ◽  
The Brain

Animals communicating interactively with conspecifics often time their broadcasts to avoid overlapping interference, to emit leading, as opposed to following, signals or to synchronize their signalling rhythms. Each of these adjustments becomes more difficult as the number of interactants increases beyond a pair. Among acoustic species, insects and anurans generally deal with the problem of group signalling by means of ‘selective attention’ in which they focus on several close or conspicuous neighbours and ignore the rest. In these animals, where signalling and receiving are often dictated by sex, the process of selective attention in signallers may have a parallel counterpart in receivers, which also focus on close neighbours. In birds and mammals, local groups tend to be extended families or clans, and group signalling may entail complex timing mechanisms that allow for attention to all individuals. In general, the mechanisms that allow animals to communicate in groups appear to be fully interwoven with the basic process of rhythmic signalling. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology’.

scholarly journals The case of CAUSE: neurobiological mechanisms for grounding an abstract concept

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1752) ◽  
pp. 20170129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Friedemann Pulvermüller
Keyword(s):  
Real Life ◽  
Family Resemblance ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Semantic Features ◽  
Abstract Concept ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Cortical Circuits ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
The Brain

How can we understand causal relationships and how can we understand words such as ‘cause’? Some theorists assume that the underlying abstract concept is given to us, and that perceptual correlation provides the relevant hints towards inferring causation from perceived real-life events. A different approach emphasizes the role of actions and their typical consequences for the emergence of the concept of causation and the application of the related term. A model of causation is proposed that highlights thefamily resemblancebetween causal actions and postulates that symbols are necessary forbinding together the different partially shared semantic features of subsetsof causal actions and their goals. Linguistic symbols are proposed to play a key role in binding the different subsets of semantic features of the abstract concept. The model is spelt out at the neuromechanistic level of distributed cortical circuits and the cognitive functions they carry. The model is discussed in light of behavioural and neuroscience evidence, and questions for future research are highlighted. In sum, taking causation as a concrete example, I argue that abstract concepts and words can be learnt and grounded in real-life interaction, and that the neurobiological mechanisms realizing such abstract semantic grounding are within our grasp.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use and representation in the brain'.

scholarly journals The dual benefits of synchronized mating signals in a Japanese treefrog: attracting mates and manipulating predators

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1835) ◽  
pp. 20200340
Author(s):  
Henry D. Legett ◽  
Ikkyu Aihara ◽  
X. E. Bernal
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transmission ◽  
Behavioural Ecology ◽  
Playback Experiments ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Selective Pressures ◽  
Mating Signals ◽  
Female Attraction ◽  
Signal Production ◽  
Effect Hypothesis ◽  
The Brain

In dense mating aggregations, such as leks and choruses, acoustic signals produced by competing male conspecifics often overlap in time. When signals overlap at a fine temporal scale the ability of females to discriminate between individual signals is reduced. Yet, despite this cost, males of some species deliberately overlap their signals with those of conspecifics, synchronizing signal production in the chorus. Here, we investigate two hypotheses of synchronized mating signals in a Japanese treefrog ( Buergeria japonica ): (1) increased female attraction to the chorus (the beacon effect hypothesis) and (2) reduced attraction of eavesdropping predators (the eavesdropper avoidance hypothesis). Our results from playback experiments on female frogs and eavesdropping micropredators (midges and mosquitoes) support both hypotheses. Signal transmission and female phonotaxis experiments suggest that away from the chorus, synchronized calls are more attractive to females than unsynchronized calls. At the chorus, however, eavesdroppers are less attracted to calls that closely follow an initial call, while female attraction to individual signals is not affected. Therefore, synchronized signalling likely benefits male B. japonica by both increasing attraction of females to the chorus and reducing eavesdropper attacks. These findings highlight how multiple selective pressures likely promoted the evolution and maintenance of this behaviour. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology’.

scholarly journals Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1835) ◽  
pp. 20200324
Author(s):  
Michael D. Greenfield ◽  
Henkjan Honing ◽  
Sonja A. Kotz ◽  
Andrea Ravignani
Keyword(s):  
Convergent Evolution ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Emergent Properties ◽  
Behavioural Ecology ◽  
Biological Clocks ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Coupled Oscillator ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Brain

This theme issue assembles current studies that ask how and why precise synchronization and related forms of rhythm interaction are expressed in a wide range of behaviour. The studies cover human activity, with an emphasis on music, and social behaviour, reproduction and communication in non-human animals. In most cases, the temporally aligned rhythms have short—from several seconds down to a fraction of a second—periods and are regulated by central nervous system pacemakers, but interactions involving rhythms that are 24 h or longer and originate in biological clocks also occur. Across this spectrum of activities, species and time scales, empirical work and modelling suggest that synchrony arises from a limited number of coupled-oscillator mechanisms with which individuals mutually entrain. Phylogenetic distribution of these common mechanisms points towards convergent evolution. Studies of animal communication indicate that many synchronous interactions between the signals of neighbouring individuals are specifically favoured by selection. However, synchronous displays are often emergent properties of entrainment between signalling individuals, and in some situations, the very signallers who produce a display might not gain any benefit from the collective timing of their production. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology’.

scholarly journals An ecological approach to measuring synchronization abilities across the animal kingdom

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1835) ◽  
pp. 20200336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly J. Henry ◽  
Peter F. Cook ◽  
Koen de Reus ◽  
Vivek Nityananda ◽  
Andrew A. Rouse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nonhuman Animal ◽  
Ecological Approach ◽  
Behavioural Ecology ◽  
Motivational State ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Animal Kingdom ◽  
Nonhuman Animals ◽  
Context Dependent ◽  
The Brain

In this perspective paper, we focus on the study of synchronization abilities across the animal kingdom. We propose an ecological approach to studying nonhuman animal synchronization that begins from observations about when, how and why an animal might synchronize spontaneously with natural environmental rhythms. We discuss what we consider to be the most important, but thus far largely understudied, temporal, physical, perceptual and motivational constraints that must be taken into account when designing experiments to test synchronization in nonhuman animals. First and foremost, different species are likely to be sensitive to and therefore capable of synchronizing at different timescales. We also argue that it is fruitful to consider the latent flexibility of animal synchronization. Finally, we discuss the importance of an animal's motivational state for showcasing synchronization abilities. We demonstrate that the likelihood that an animal can successfully synchronize with an environmental rhythm is context-dependent and suggest that the list of species capable of synchronization is likely to grow when tested with ecologically honest, species-tuned experiments. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology’.

scholarly journals Vocal learning as a preadaptation for the evolution of human beat perception and synchronization

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1835) ◽  
pp. 20200326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aniruddh D. Patel
Keyword(s):  
Recent Progress ◽  
Temporal Structure ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Neural Circuitry ◽  
Behavioural Ecology ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Significant Challenge ◽  
Brain Circuits ◽  
Learning Hypothesis ◽  
The Brain

The human capacity to synchronize movements to an auditory beat is central to musical behaviour and to debates over the evolution of human musicality. Have humans evolved any neural specializations for music processing, or does music rely entirely on brain circuits that evolved for other reasons? The vocal learning and rhythmic synchronization hypothesis proposes that our ability to move in time with an auditory beat in a precise, predictive and tempo-flexible manner originated in the neural circuitry for complex vocal learning. In the 15 years since the hypothesis was proposed a variety of studies have supported it. However, one study has provided a significant challenge to the hypothesis. Furthermore, it is increasingly clear that vocal learning is not a binary trait animals have or lack, but varies more continuously across species. In the light of these developments and of recent progress in the neurobiology of beat processing and of vocal learning, the current paper revises the vocal learning hypothesis. It argues that an advanced form of vocal learning acts as a preadaptation for sporadic beat perception and synchronization (BPS), providing intrinsic rewards for predicting the temporal structure of complex acoustic sequences. It further proposes that in humans, mechanisms of gene-culture coevolution transformed this preadaptation into a genuine neural adaptation for sustained BPS. The larger significance of this proposal is that it outlines a hypothesis of cognitive gene-culture coevolution which makes testable predictions for neuroscience, cross-species studies and genetics. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology’.

scholarly journals A metastable attractor model of self–other integration (MEAMSO) in rhythmic synchronization

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1835) ◽  
pp. 20200332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ole Adrian Heggli ◽  
Ivana Konvalinka ◽  
Morten L. Kringelbach ◽  
Peter Vuust
Keyword(s):  
Predictive Models ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
Behavioural Ecology ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Self And Other ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Mutual Adaptation ◽  
Attractor Model ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Over Time

Human interaction is often accompanied by synchronized bodily rhythms. Such synchronization may emerge spontaneously as when a crowd's applause turns into a steady beat, be encouraged as in nursery rhymes, or be intentional as in the case of playing music together. The latter has been extensively studied using joint finger-tapping paradigms as a simplified version of rhythmic interpersonal synchronization. A key finding is that synchronization in such cases is multifaceted, with synchronized behaviour resting upon different synchronization strategies such as mutual adaptation, leading–following and leading–leading. However, there are multiple open questions regarding the mechanism behind these strategies and how they develop dynamically over time. Here, we propose a metastable attractor model of self–other integration (MEAMSO). This model conceptualizes dyadic rhythmic interpersonal synchronization as a process of integrating and segregating signals of self and other. Perceived sounds are continuously evaluated as either being attributed to self -produced or other -produced actions. The model entails a metastable system with two particular attractor states: one where an individual maintains two separate predictive models for self - and other -produced actions, and the other where these two predictive models integrate into one. The MEAMSO explains the three known synchronization strategies and makes testable predictions about the dynamics of interpersonal synchronization both in behaviour and the brain. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology’.

scholarly journals Species relationships in the extremes and their influence on community stability

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1835) ◽  
pp. 20200343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shyamolina Ghosh ◽  
Kathryn L. Cottingham ◽  
Daniel C. Reuman
Keyword(s):  
Behavioural Ecology ◽  
Population Fluctuations ◽  
Community Stability ◽  
Species Relationships ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Aggregate Properties ◽  
Species Abundances ◽  
Total Community ◽  
Coexisting Species ◽  
The Brain

Synchrony among population fluctuations of multiple coexisting species has a major impact on community stability, i.e. on the relative temporal constancy of aggregate properties such as total community biomass. However, synchrony and its impacts are usually measured using covariance methods, which do not account for whether species abundances may be more correlated when species are relatively common than when they are scarce, or vice versa. Recent work showed that species commonly exhibit such ‘asymmetric tail associations’. We here consider the influence of asymmetric tail associations on community stability. We develop a ‘skewness ratio’ which quantifies how much species relationships and tail associations modify stability. The skewness ratio complements the classic variance ratio and related metrics. Using multi-decadal grassland datasets, we show that accounting for tail associations gives new viewpoints on synchrony and stability; e.g. species associations can alter community stability differentially for community crashes or explosions to high values, a fact not previously detectable. Species associations can mitigate explosions of community abundance to high values, increasing one aspect of stability, while simultaneously exacerbating crashes to low values, decreasing another aspect of stability; or vice versa. Our work initiates a new, more flexible paradigm for exploring species relationships and community stability. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology’.

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