Cited by 114Animal Vocal Communication and BehaviorLanguage and cultural evolutionAnimal Behavior and Reproduction

The Progressive Loss of Syntactical Structure in Bird Song along an Island Colonization Chain

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Lachlan, Robert F., Verzijden, Machteld N., Bernard, Caroline S., Jonker, Peter-Paul, Koese, Bram, Jaarsma, Shirley, Spoor, Willemijn, Slater, Peter J.B. +1 more·2013·Current Biology

Abstract

Cultural transmission can increase the flexibility of behavior, such as bird song. Nevertheless, this flexibility often appears to be constrained, sometimes by preferences for learning certain traits over others, a phenomenon known as "biased" learning or transmission. The sequential colonization of the Atlantic Islands by the chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) provides a unique model system in which to investigate how the variability of a cultural trait has evolved. We used novel computational methods to analyze chaffinch song from twelve island and continental populations and to infer patterns of evolution in song structure. We found that variability of the subunits within songs ("syllables") differed moderately between populations but was not predicted by whether the population was continental or not. In contrast, we found that the sequencing of syllables within songs ("syntax") was less structured in island than continental populations and in fact decreased significantly after each colonization. Syntactical structure was very clear in the mainland European populations but was almost entirely absent in the most recently colonized island, Gran Canaria. Our results suggest that colonization leads to the progressive loss of a species-specific feature of song, syntactical structure.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.cub.2013.07.057

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Authors
Lachlan, R. F., Verzijden, M. N., Bernard, C. S., Jonker, P.-P., Koese, B., Jaarsma, S., Spoor, W., Slater, P. J. B., & ten Cate, C.
Affiliations
  • Leiden University (NL)
  • University of St Andrews (GB)
Corresponding author
Lachlan, Robert F.
Venue
Current Biology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2013-10
Volume
23
Issue
19
Pages
1896-1901
ISSN
0960-9822 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2056019246
Cited by
114
References
42
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 3
FWCI
4.08
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Current Biology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Lund University Publications (Lund University) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Developmental Biology › Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior
  • Social Sciences › Cultural Studies › Language and cultural evolution
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
Keywords
bird song, common chaffinch, cultural transmission, biased learning, song syntax, song evolution, island colonization, Atlantic islands, Gran Canaria, song variability
MeSH terms
Animals, Biological Evolution, Learning, Population, Species Specificity, Vocalization, Animal, Finches

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