Kin recognition in long-tailed tits

AMY LEEDALE1

Dr Elva Robinson2, Prof Ben Hatchwell1

1University of Sheffield, 2 University of York

aleedale1@sheffield.ac.uk

@amyleedale

Cooperative breeding

Sociable weaver

Superb fairy-wren

Rifleman

Long-tailed tit

Acorn woodpecker

Florida scrub-jay

Galapagos mockingbird

Taiwan yuhina

White-fronted bee-eater

Long-tailed titAegithalos caudatus

Kin-directed cooperation

Helpers are failed breeders

Limited dispersal

‘Neighbourhoods’ of non-kin and

kin of varying relatedness

(siblings, cousins etc.)

Rivelin ValleySheffield, UK

1994-2017

~50 breeding pairs per year

Nest locations (GPS)

Colour-banded (pedigree)

Microsatellite data: 19 loci

Long-tailed tits recognise siblings using learned calls (playback experiments)

How are kin recognised?

Sharp et al. (2005) Nature

Sharp & Hatchwell (2006) Ibis

Is churr call similarity

used to distinguish

between close and

distant kin?

Churr

Spring 2015-2017; 06:00-18:00h BST

Senheiser ME67/K6 directional microphone

(Rycote windjammer)

Roland R-05 WAV/MP3 recorder v1.03

Sample rate: 48kHz, 16-bit resolution

1-15m from focal individual

Churr call similarity and kin recognition

1) Are churr calls individually distinct?

2) Does call similarity correlate with relatedness?

Individuality in churr calls

1) Spectrographic cross-correlation (SPCC)

BBR1 WPL1

WPL3 WPL2 WPL1 BBR3 BBR2 BBR1

BBR1 0.50 0.50 0.38 0.52 0.54

BBR2 0.54 0.44 0.46 0.46

BBR3 0.45 0.36 0.39

WPL1 0.57 0.66

WPL2 0.47

WPL3

Duration (s)

Minimum Frequency (Hz)

Maximum Frequency (Hz)

Bandwidth (Hz)

Mean Frequency (Hz)

2) Repeatability of sound parameters

Individuality in churr calls

rptR: Stoffel, M., Nakagawa, S. & Schielzeth, H. (2017)

Nakagawa, S. and Schielzeth, H. (2010)

Churr call similarity and kin recognition

1) Are churr calls individually distinct?

2) Does call similarity correlate with relatedness?

Dynamic Time Warping (DTW)

Call similarity and relatedness

Luscinia Software (Rob Lachlan, Queen Mary University of London)

Dynamic Time Warping (DTW)

Luscinia Software (Rob Lachlan, Queen Mary University of London)

Dynamic Time Warping (DTW)

Dissimilarity value between 0-1

Call similarity and relatedness

Dynamic Time Warping (DTW)

Call similarity and relatedness

Dynamic Time Warping (DTW)

Song level

Individual level

Call similarity and relatedness

Call dissimilarity:

DTW values

Difference in sound parameters (Euclidian distance)

Relatedness:

Genetic similarity (microsatellite markers)

Kinship coefficient (pedigree)

Predict a negative relationship

Call similarity and relatedness

Conclusions

1) Are churr calls individually distinct? YES

2) Does call similarity correlate with relatedness? YES

- specific call characteristics may convey family signature

- Individual recognition?

Ben HatchwellElva Robinson

Rob Lachlan

Natalie Dos Remedios

Rene van Dijk

Avisoft-SASLab Pro

Luscinia

aleedale1@sheffield.ac.uk

@amyleedale