Post-contest behaviour in black-capped chickadees (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Poecile atricapillus</Emphasis>): loser displays,not victory displays,follow asymmetrical countersinging exchanges |
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Authors: | Sarah Lippold Lauren P Fitzsimmons Jennifer R Foote Laurene M Ratcliffe Daniel J Mennill |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, N9B3P4;(2) Biology Department, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, K7L3N6; |
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Abstract: | Victory displays are behaviours that occur after the conclusion of a signaling contest, performed solely by the contest winner.
Victory displays may reinforce the dominance of the winner either to the loser or to other conspecifics within signaling range.
Victory displays are poorly studied despite the significant consequences that post-conflict behaviour may have on the individuals
involved. We examined the period immediately following 50 territorial countersinging contests between males in 10 neighbourhoods
of black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) of known dominance rank. We characterized the post-contest singing behaviour of chickadees and evaluated whether post-contest
behaviour is consistent with victory displays. Using a 16-microphone acoustic location system to simultaneously record entire
neighbourhoods of breeding chickadees, we isolated 50 dyadic countersinging contests and measured the vocal behaviour of the
contestants in the minutes following each interaction. Eighty-six percent of contests were followed by a period of solo singing
by one of the contestants, while 14% were followed by silence. The post-contest singer was most often the contestant who held
a subordinate dominance position in the previous winter’s dominance hierarchy; dominant males performed post-contest song
bouts significantly less often. Asymmetry in overlapping between contestants did not predict which bird sang a post-contest
bout. However, in a significant majority of cases, the post-contest singer was pitch-matched by his opponent during the contest
more than he pitch-matched his opponent. Our results indicate that male chickadees do not perform acoustic victory displays
after countersinging contests. In contrast, the post-contest behaviour of territorial chickadees is more consistent with a
“loser display”. |
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