title: Multimodal signalling in the North American barn swallow: a phenotype network approach.
abstract: Complex signals, involving multiple components within and across modalities, are common in animal communication. However, decomposing complex signals into traits and their interactions remains a fundamental challenge for studies of phenotype evolution. We apply a novel phenotype network approach for studying complex signal evolution in the North American barn swallow (Hirundo rustica erythrogaster). We integrate model testing with correlation-based phenotype networks to infer the contributions of female mate choice and male-male competition to the evolution of barn swallow communication. Overall, the best predictors of mate choice were distinct from those for competition, while moderate functional overlap suggests males and females use some of the same traits to assess potential mates and rivals. We interpret model results in the context of a network of traits, and suggest this approach allows researchers a more nuanced view of trait clustering patterns that informs new hypotheses about the evolution of communication systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder 80309, CO, USA School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln 68588, NE, USA m.r.wilkins06@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Matthew R
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3162-6749
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Wilkins
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln 68588, NE, USA.
authors.forename: Daizaburo
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0478-6309
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shizuka
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder 80309, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Maxwell B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Joseph
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder 80309, CO, USA School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln 68588, NE, USA.
authors.forename: Joanna K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Hubbard
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder 80309, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Safran
mesh_terms: D000819:Animal Communication; D000818:Animals; D003120:Colorado; D003163:Competitive Behavior; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D052586:Mating Preference, Animal; D008954:Models, Biological; D010641:Phenotype; D046388:Swallows / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: competition; mate choice; modularity; multimodal signals; redundancy; sexual selection