The 'social complexity hypothesis' for communication posits that groups with complex social
systems require more complex communicative systems to regulate interactions and relations …

The evolution of territoriality reflects the balance between the benefit and cost of
monopolising a resource. While the benefit of territoriality is generally intuitive (improved …

Highlights•Multimodal communication allows a shift of channels if one channel is
impaired.•Shifts can occur only in perception or in both signal production and …

The study of multimodal communication has become an active and vibrant field. This special
issue of Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology brings together new developments in this …

The divergence of signals along ecological gradients may lead to speciation. The current
research tests the hypothesis that variation in sound absorption selects for divergence in …

Learning is a familiar process to most people, but it currently lacks a fully developed
theoretical position within evolutionary biology. Learning (memory and forgetting) involves …

Individual-based studies allow quantification of phenotypic plasticity in behavioural, life-
history and other labile traits. The study of phenotypic plasticity in the wild can shed new …

Although the importance of signals involved in species recognition and sexual selection to
speciation is widely recognized, the processes that underlie signal divergence are still a …

Effective signal transmission is essential for communication. In environments where signal
transmission is highly variable, signalers may utilize complex signals, which incorporate …

Noise is a ubiquitous feature in natural as well as in urban habitats. The presence of noise
can have multiple direct and indirect effects on communication. Noise can directly mask …