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Biomechanics of the Peacock’s Display: How Feather Structure and Resonance Influence Multimodal Signaling

Courtship displays may serve as signals of the quality of motor performance, but little is known about the underlying biomechanics that determines both their signal content and costs. Peacocks (Pavo cristatus) perform a complex, multimodal “train-rattling” display in which they court females by vibr...

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Autores principales: Dakin, Roslyn, McCrossan, Owen, Hare, James F., Montgomerie, Robert, Amador Kane, Suzanne
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4847759/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27119380
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0152759
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author Dakin, Roslyn
McCrossan, Owen
Hare, James F.
Montgomerie, Robert
Amador Kane, Suzanne
author_facet Dakin, Roslyn
McCrossan, Owen
Hare, James F.
Montgomerie, Robert
Amador Kane, Suzanne
author_sort Dakin, Roslyn
collection PubMed
description Courtship displays may serve as signals of the quality of motor performance, but little is known about the underlying biomechanics that determines both their signal content and costs. Peacocks (Pavo cristatus) perform a complex, multimodal “train-rattling” display in which they court females by vibrating the iridescent feathers in their elaborate train ornament. Here we study how feather biomechanics influences the performance of this display using a combination of field recordings and laboratory experiments. Using high-speed video, we find that train-rattling peacocks stridulate their tail feathers against the train at 25.6 Hz, on average, generating a broadband, pulsating mechanical sound at that frequency. Laboratory measurements demonstrate that arrays of peacock tail and train feathers have a broad resonant peak in their vibrational spectra at the range of frequencies used for train-rattling during the display, and the motion of feathers is just as expected for feathers shaking near resonance. This indicates that peacocks are able to drive feather vibrations energetically efficiently over a relatively broad range of frequencies, enabling them to modulate the feather vibration frequency of their displays. Using our field data, we show that peacocks with longer trains use slightly higher vibration frequencies on average, even though longer train feathers are heavier and have lower resonant frequencies. Based on these results, we propose hypotheses for future studies of the function and energetics of this display that ask why its dynamic elements might attract and maintain female attention. Finally, we demonstrate how the mechanical structure of the train feathers affects the peacock’s visual display by allowing the colorful iridescent eyespots–which strongly influence female mate choice–to remain nearly stationary against a dynamic iridescent background.
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spelling pubmed-48477592016-05-07 Biomechanics of the Peacock’s Display: How Feather Structure and Resonance Influence Multimodal Signaling Dakin, Roslyn McCrossan, Owen Hare, James F. Montgomerie, Robert Amador Kane, Suzanne PLoS One Research Article Courtship displays may serve as signals of the quality of motor performance, but little is known about the underlying biomechanics that determines both their signal content and costs. Peacocks (Pavo cristatus) perform a complex, multimodal “train-rattling” display in which they court females by vibrating the iridescent feathers in their elaborate train ornament. Here we study how feather biomechanics influences the performance of this display using a combination of field recordings and laboratory experiments. Using high-speed video, we find that train-rattling peacocks stridulate their tail feathers against the train at 25.6 Hz, on average, generating a broadband, pulsating mechanical sound at that frequency. Laboratory measurements demonstrate that arrays of peacock tail and train feathers have a broad resonant peak in their vibrational spectra at the range of frequencies used for train-rattling during the display, and the motion of feathers is just as expected for feathers shaking near resonance. This indicates that peacocks are able to drive feather vibrations energetically efficiently over a relatively broad range of frequencies, enabling them to modulate the feather vibration frequency of their displays. Using our field data, we show that peacocks with longer trains use slightly higher vibration frequencies on average, even though longer train feathers are heavier and have lower resonant frequencies. Based on these results, we propose hypotheses for future studies of the function and energetics of this display that ask why its dynamic elements might attract and maintain female attention. Finally, we demonstrate how the mechanical structure of the train feathers affects the peacock’s visual display by allowing the colorful iridescent eyespots–which strongly influence female mate choice–to remain nearly stationary against a dynamic iridescent background. Public Library of Science 2016-04-27 /pmc/articles/PMC4847759/ /pubmed/27119380 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0152759 Text en © 2016 Dakin et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Dakin, Roslyn
McCrossan, Owen
Hare, James F.
Montgomerie, Robert
Amador Kane, Suzanne
Biomechanics of the Peacock’s Display: How Feather Structure and Resonance Influence Multimodal Signaling
title Biomechanics of the Peacock’s Display: How Feather Structure and Resonance Influence Multimodal Signaling
title_full Biomechanics of the Peacock’s Display: How Feather Structure and Resonance Influence Multimodal Signaling
title_fullStr Biomechanics of the Peacock’s Display: How Feather Structure and Resonance Influence Multimodal Signaling
title_full_unstemmed Biomechanics of the Peacock’s Display: How Feather Structure and Resonance Influence Multimodal Signaling
title_short Biomechanics of the Peacock’s Display: How Feather Structure and Resonance Influence Multimodal Signaling
title_sort biomechanics of the peacock’s display: how feather structure and resonance influence multimodal signaling
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4847759/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27119380
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0152759
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