11/9/2023 0 Comments Kingdom of deception cheatsWe examined the mating displays used by males in a range of social contexts in the wild to determine how often male mourning cuttlefish employ this tactical deception strategy. Here, we describe a form of cheating used by male mourning cuttlefish wherein they mimic female displays towards rival males on one side of their mantle while simultaneously displaying typical male courtship patterns towards potential mates on the other side ( figure 1 and the electronic supplementary material, video S1). In this context, natural selection should strongly favour any tactic that reduces the probability of courtship interruption and thereby maximizes male reproductive success. Populations are male biased and males compete for receptive females, display mate guarding, displace rivals and interrupt courtship attempts (C. ![]() Males generally exhibit a pattern of pulsating stripes on the mantle during interspecific interactions, whereas females have characteristic mottled camouflage coloration. Similar to other cephalopods, they use dynamic visual displays for intraspecific communication. Mourning cuttlefish ( Sepia plangon) are found in social aggregations along the east coast of Australia. Observations of the giant cuttlefish ( Sepia apama), for example, have shown that small males can mimic females as part of an alternative mating tactic that is successful in nearly half of all attempts. Thus, the cuttlefish display seems to be a system in which cheating could potentially be rife. This rapid ability to change both the colour and texture of the skin is employed for camouflage and for communication. Cuttlefish visual signalling systems have received substantial attention, not only because they are spectacular, but the rate at which signals can change is exceptional. Much of this debate on signal honesty has centred on the cost of producing the signal, but if the costs of signal production are low, then the potential for cheating greatly increases. ![]() Few have considered the implications of individuals sending conflicting signals to conspecifics simultaneously. There is ample work illustrating that the signallers themselves are aware of this network and adjust their signal content accordingly (e.g. Thus, signalling occurs in the context of a complex social communication network consisting of signallers, receivers and bystanders. For example, while the mating calls of male Tungara frogs are aimed at potential females, they are also detected by predatory bats. The signal receiver concept of animal communication now accepts that signals that are directed at specific receivers are seldom private and are detected and acted upon by unintended recipients that may include heterospecifics. The proportion of cheats in a population generally remains low, because the cheat's bluff is occasionally called and the costs of being caught cheating may be considerable (e.g. Dawkins & Guilford have argued that cheating is probably ubiquitous in most communication networks. However, models and empirical data now show that many of these ‘honest’ signalling networks are prone to invasions from cheats. ![]() Although this type of deception provides a short-term gain to the perpetrator, theory predicts that for a signalling system to function effectively, honesty must remain the dominant mode of communication. Crying wolf is a form of deception where an individual sounds an alarm call to distract conspecifics while they monopolize a resource. ![]() The old adage that cheaters never prosper is far from applicable in the animal kingdom. The use of tactical deception in such a complex communication network indicates that sociality has played a key role in the cognitive evolution of cephalopods. Males deceive rival males by displaying male courtship patterns to receptive females on one side of the body, and simultaneously displaying female patterns to a single rival male on the other, thus preventing the rival from disrupting courtship. Here, we show that this ability is tactically employed by male mourning cuttlefish ( Sepia plangon) to mislead conspecifics during courtship in a specific social context amenable to cheating 39 per cent of the time, while it was never employed in other social contexts. Cuttlefish facultatively change their shape and colour, an ability that evolved to avoid predators and capture prey. Theory predicts, however, that honest signalling systems are susceptible to invasion by cheats, the extent of which is largely mediated by fear of reprisal. Signals in intraspecific communication should be inherently honest otherwise the system is prone to collapse.
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