Tempo and modes of cultural evolution in the complex display of the superb lyrebird (NSF GRANT #1730791)

​Explaining natural patterns of phenotypic variation through space and time is a fundamental problem in evolutionary biology, yet conventional models of genetic evolution often fall short in explaining variation in behavioral phenotypes, particularly in those that are learned. Social transmission of learned behaviors can often lead to ‘cultures’ characterized by the conformity of behavioral variants within groups (such as family groups or populations) but large differences in behavioral phenotypes among groups. However, such non-random patterns in behavioral variants can also result from genetic or environmental factors, and the extent to which social transmission shapes behavioral repertories in wild animals is still poorly understood. In practice, processes of both cultural and genetic change need to be considered simultaneously in order to develop a holistic understanding of the evolution of complex learned traits.

​What mechanisms or processes (modes) drive the rates (tempos) of cultural evolution is a key question in the study of complex learned behaviors, but with the exception of work on humans (e.g., language) this has rarely been addressed in natural systems. Recent advances in bioacoustics and landscape genomics mean that it is now possible, for the first time, to investigate patterns of cultural evolution of complex learned traits within a single species across its entire range.​
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​Aims & Objectives

To investigate cultural evolution in the elaborate audiovisual display of the superb lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae), a highly versatile avian vocal mimic. ​​

​The superb lyrebird provides a particularly powerful and tractable model system for investigating tempo and mode in cultural evolution in the wild, exhibiting extensive geographic variation in song structure, exceptional capacity for mimetic learning, and a complex multicomponent-multimodal display.

​We will perform quantitative analyses of the cultural, genetic, and ecological drivers of the naturally observed display variation, and capitalize on a ‘natural experiment’ created by the translocation of lyrebirds to the extralimital island of Tasmania. In addition, we will perform field-based social transmission experiments to test hypotheses for the cultural mechanisms underlying display evolution.​
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Research Team

USA: Prof Irby Lovette (Cornell University); Dr Aaron Rice (Cornell University); ​Prof Mike Webster (Cornell University), Dr Fiona Backhouse (Cornell University)

Australia:  Dr Anastasia Dalziell (Western Sydney University);  Prof Justin Welbergen (Western Sydney University)

Collaborators: ​Prof Rob Magrath (Australian National University); ​Dr Karan Odom (University of the Pacific), Dr Alex Maisey (La Trobe University)​; 
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​Affiliated student Projects

• Matthew Chaumont - PhD Candidate (Western Sydney University; supervisors: Prof Justin Welbergen, Dr Anastasia Dalziell, Prof Robert Magrath) Topic: A Lyrebirds tale: cultural evolution of song through time.​​

• Fiona Backhouse - PhD Completed 2022 (Western Sydney University; supervisors: Prof Justin Welbergen, Dr Anastasia Dalziell, Prof Robert Magrath). Topic: Explaining geographic variation in the multimodal display of the Albert’s lyrebird (Menura alberti)​

• Victoria Austin - PhD Completed 2022 (Western Sydney University; supervisors: Prof Justin Welbergen, Dr Anastasia Dalziell, Prof Naomi Langmore). Topic: Investigating the structure and function of mimetic song in female superb lyrebirds (Menura novaehollandiae)

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​Relevant references

• Hughes, E. J., Austin, V. I., Backhouse, F., Maisey, A. C., Lopez, K. A., Mikles, C. S., *Odom, K. J., *Welbergen, J. A., & *Dalziell, A. H. (2023). Preferred nesting habitat of the slow-breeding Superb Lyrebird is rare and was disproportionately impacted by Australia’s "Black Summer" megafires (2019–2020) within a World Heritage Area. Ornithological Applications, ​DOI: 10.1093/ornithapp/duad027 [*These authors contributed equally] ​
• Backhouse, F., Welbergen, J. A., Magrath, R. D. & Dalziell, A. H. (2023) Depleted cultural richness of an avian vocal mimic in fragmented habitat. Diversity and Distributions, 29, pp. 109-122 doi: 10.1111/ddi.13646
• *Crisologo, T. L., *Dzielski, S. A., Purcell, J. R., Webster, M. R, Welbergen, J. A., Dalziell, A. H. (2023). Selective alarm call mimicry in the sexual display of the male superb lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae). Evolutionary Ecology, 37, pp. 245-266, doi: 10.1007/s10682-022-10200-w  [*These authors contributed equally] ​
• Dalziell, A. H., Welbergen, J. A. & Magrath, R. D. (2022). Male superb lyrebirds mimic functionally distinct heterospecific vocalisations during different modes of sexual display. Animal Behaviour doi: ​10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.04.002
• Backhouse, F., Dalziell, A. H., Magrath, R. D. & Welbergen, J. A. (2022) Higher-order sequences of vocal mimicry performed by male Albert's lyrebirds are socially transmitted and enhance acoustic contrast. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 289: 20212498
• Austin, V. I., Dalziell, A. H., Langmore, N. E., & Welbergen,  J. A. (2021). Avian vocalisations: the female perspective. Biological Reviews. 96(4), pp. 1484-1503. 
• Backhouse, F., Dalziell, A. H., Magrath, R. D., Rice, A., N., Crisologo, T., L., & Welbergen, J. A. (2021). Differential geographic patterns in song components of male Albert’s lyrebirds. Ecology and Evolution. 11(6), 2701-2716. 
• Dalziell, A. H. & Welbergen, J. A. (2022) Male Superb Lyrebirds (Menura novaehollandiae) perform an ornate multimodal display immediately following copulation. Ibis, doi: 10.1111/ibi.13052
• Dalziell, A. H., Maisey, A. C., *Magrath, R. D. & *Welbergen, J. A. (2021). Male lyrebirds create a complex acoustic illusion of a mobbing flock during courtship and copulation. Current Biology.  31(9), 1970-1976 e1974. [*These authors contributed equally]
• Austin, V. I., Welbergen,  J. A., Maisey, A. C., Lindsay, M. G., & Dalziell, A. H. (2019). Destruction of a conspecific nest by a female Superb Lyrebird: evidence for reproductive suppression in a bird with female-only parental care. Behaviour. 156(15), 1459-1469. ​Dalziell, A. H. & Welbergen, J. A. (2016) Mimicry for all modalities. Ecology Letters, 19, pp. 609-619.
• Dalziell, A. H., Welbergen, J. A., Igic, B. & Magrath, R. D. (2015) Avian vocal mimicry: a unified conceptual framework. Biological Reviews, 90:643-668. 
• Dalziell, A. H., Peters, R. A., Cockburn, A., Dorland, A., Maisey, A. C., & Magrath, R. D. (2013) Dance choreography is coordinated with song repertoire in a complex avian display. Current Biology, 23, pp. 1132-1135. [cover feature] video abstract
• Dalziell, A. H. & Magrath, R. D. (2012). Fooling the experts: accurate vocal mimicry in the song of the superb lyrebird. Animal Behaviour, 83, pp. 1401-1410.
• Davies, N. B. & Welbergen, J. A. (2009) Social transmission of a host defense against cuckoo parasitism. Science, 324, 1318-1320 (authors contributed equally to this work)
• Greig, E.I. & Webster M. S. (2013) Spatial decoupling of song and plumage generates novel phenotypes between two avian subspecies Behavioral Ecology, 24: 1004-1013.​​​
• Odom, K. J., Araya-Salas, M., Morano, J. L., Ligon, R. A., Leighton, G. M., Taff, C. C., Dalziell, A. H., Billings, A. C., Germain, R. R., Pardo, M., de Andrade, L. G., Hedwig, D., Keen, S. C., Shiu, Y., Charif, R. A., Webster, M. S., & Rice, A. N. (2021). Comparative bioacoustics: a roadmap for quantifying and comparing animal sounds across diverse taxa. Biological Reviews, 96(4), pp. 1135-1159. 
• Vortman, Y., Lotem, A. Dor, R., Lovette, I. J. & Safran R. J. (2013) Multiple sexual signals and behavioral reproductive isolation in a diverging population. American Naturalist, 182, 514-523.