Song similarity between parental species in an hybrid zone

MAHLER, B.; DOMINGUEZ, M.; REBOREDA, J.C.

Leicester

Congreso; XVI Congress of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology; 2016

International Behavioral Ecology Society

The Yellow Cardinal (Gubernatrix cristata) is an endangered bird endemic of South America that hybridizes with the related Common Diuca (Diuca diuca minor). Hybridization in the wild only occurs in one region where both species live in simpatry during breeding season. Yellow cardinal males are scarce because they are captured to commercialize them as cage birds. In this study, we investigated cardinals? song variation in allopatry and within the hybrid zone with Common Diuca. We found greater similarity between songs of yellow cardinals and diucas where hybridization takes place. Common Diuca?s acoustic characteristics along its distribution allow us to discard the possibility of convergent adaptation to the environment. We suggest that interspecific learning due to the low presence of Yellow Cardinal males might contribute to song convergence in the southern population, where young individuals copy Common Diuca song features. Thus, cultural introgression could be affecting vocal variation of yellow cardinals.