DOI: 10.5061/dryad.vt69s
title: Data from: Patterns of call communication between group-housed Zebra finches change during the breeding cycle

description: Vocal signals such as calls play a crucial role for survival and
 successful reproduction, especially in group-living animals. However, call
 interactions and call dynamics within groups remain largely unexplored
 because their relation to relevant contexts or life-history stages could
 not be studied with individual-level resolution. Using on-bird microphone
 transmitters, we recorded the vocalisations of individual zebra finches
 (Taeniopygia guttata) behaving freely in social groups, while females and
 males previously unknown to each other passed through different stages of
 the breeding cycle. As birds formed pairs and shifted their reproductive
 status, their call repertoire composition changed. The recordings revealed
 that calls occurred non-randomly in fine-tuned vocal interactions and
 decreased within groups while pair-specific patterns emerged. Call-type
 combinations of vocal interactions changed within pairs and were
 associated with successful egg-laying, highlighting a potential fitness
 relevance of calling dynamics in communication systems.
description: Correlation values from
 vocal interaction matricesCalling interactions in
 group-housed zebra finches: correlation values from vocal interaction
 matrices for call-type and bird combinations, calculated from PSTHs.
 Matrices were transposed to columns (focal bird) and rows (non-focal
 bird), and supplemented with information on: Trial; day; identity, sex and
 call type of focal and non-focal bird; whether interacting birds were pair
 members (Pairmembers(y/no)); whether vocal interactions were positive,
 non-significant or negative (Interaction(pos/0/neg); how call types were
 combined (combination.type); whether focal bird was in a pair that
 produced a clutch of eggs (focal.eggslaid); reproductive stage of the
 focal bird (nest.stage = summary, breeding.stage = more
 detailed).Gill2015_allinteractions_summary.csvFigure 2: Group reproductive stages change over timeThis table contains the percentage of birds assigned to different reproductive stages (nest.stage = summary, breeding.stage = more detailed) for each day of the experiment, along with the absolute numbers (sum) and the number of birds measured (number_birds), for the calculation. Note that only the first 20 days are presented in the graph.Gill2015_FIG2_source1_stages.csvFigure 2 – figure supplement 1: Differences in steroid hormone concentrations at baseline levels and the three nest stagesFor each trial and bird, we provide steroid hormone values (DHT = dihydrotestosterone, E2 = estradiol, P4 = progesterone, Testo = testosterone) in relation to sex, Timepoint of plasma collection (base = baseline, i.e. before females and males were joined in aviary; join1 = one day after males and females were joined, nestmat1 = one week later, one day after nest material was provided) and reproductive stages (baseline.nest.stage).Gill2015_FIG2S1_source1_hormones.csvFigure 4 and Figure 4 – Figure supplement 1: Female and male call-type usage at different nest stages and breeding stagesFor each trial and bird, we provide the number of calls (nrCalls_extrapolated, extrapolated to 4 hours of recordings) and the proportion of calls (divided by the sum of all five call types) produced in different call types, with information on day, sex and reproductive stage (nest.stage = summary, breeding.stage = more detailed).Gill2015_FIG4_source1_calltypes.csvFigure 5 – figure supplement 1: Increasing specificity of within-pair vocal interactionsFor each breeding stage, the overall mean number of calls per bird (within the five analysed call types, and extrapolated to four hours of recordings) with standard deviation, standard error and confidence intervals. We also show the specificity of pair calling interactions by providing within-pair (percentage.pair) and extra-pair (percentage.nonpartner) percentages of occurred positive (from respective possible) calling interactions.Gill2015_FIG5S1_source1_callactivity_specificity_summary.csvFigure 5B: Within-pair vocal interactions at different breeding stagesPercentages of positive within-pair interactions at different breeding stages, with respect to combination of call types (Call.Response.type), initiating bird’s sex (initiator.sex) and responding bird’s sex (responder.sex).Gill2015_FIG5B_source1_summarypairinteractions.csvFigure 6: Call-type combinations, nest stages and successful egg-layingFor each pair, we provide the mean number (pairmean) of positive, negative and non-significant (interaction.type: posit/neg/zero) call-type interactions at different reproductive stages (nest.stage) and in relation to successful egg-laying (eggslaid).Gill2015_FIG6_sourcedata1_interactions_success.csv