Female signal jamming in a socially monogamous brood parasite.

Acoustic signalling is vital to courtship in many animals, yet the role of female vocalizations is understudied. Here, we combine observational and experimental methods to assess the courtship function of the female chatter call in brown-headed cowbirds, Molothrus ater. While the chatter call is likely multifunctional, it is frequently used in social interactions and overlapping duets with males during the breeding season. Based on a combination of focal- and scan-sampling data from large naturalistic aviaries, we did not find support for the hypothesis that the chatter call elicits male attention or encourages continued courtship. However, we did find evidence that the chatter call plays a role in pair bond formation, as females preferentially chattered in response to songs from pair-bond males in the 2 weeks leading up to the median date of first copulation. Females were less selective in male-directed chatter use after copulations began. We also found support for the hypothesis that chatter is used to signal-jam male songs. Frame-by-frame video analysis revealed that the majority of female chatter calls were tightly time-locked to song, occurring less than 500 ms after male vocal onset. To test the effect of signal jamming on male song potency, we designed a laboratory experiment in which male song playbacks were jammed by various recorded stimuli. Natural chatter calls more effectively reduced female copulatory responses to song than high-pass filtered chatter calls, suggesting that the low frequencies in natural chatter (2-4 kHz) are important for interfering with male song and reducing its potency. Our results suggest that sexual conflict is operating in cowbird courtship, with signal jamming serving as a mechanism by which females guard, resist or select their mates. We also discuss ways in which cowbird vocal interactions may function cooperatively to coordinate reproduction or transition females into breeding condition.

The Evolving Erythrocyte: Red Blood Cells as Modulators of Innate Immunity.

The field of red cell biology is undergoing a quiet revolution. Long assumed to be inert oxygen carriers, RBCs are emerging as important modulators of the innate immune response. Erythrocytes bind and scavenge chemokines, nucleic acids, and pathogens in circulation. Depending on the conditions of the microenvironment, erythrocytes may either promote immune activation or maintain immune quiescence. We examine erythrocyte immune function through a comparative and evolutionary lens, as this framework may offer perspective into newly recognized roles of human RBCs. Next, we review the known immune roles of human RBCs and discuss their activity in the context of sepsis where erythrocyte function may prove important to disease pathogenesis. Given the limited success of immunomodulatory therapies in treating inflammatory diseases, we propose that the immunologic function of RBCs provides an understudied and potentially rich area of research that may yield novel insights into mechanisms of immune regulation.