An integrative view of the signaling phenotype: Dynamic links between signals, physiology, behavior and social context

Signal traits are often linked with the physiological state and behavior of their bearer. Direct examination of the caus- al links among these variables has provided substantial insight into the information content of signals, and into the costs and bene- fits of signal expression. Yet recent empirical work suggests that the social context in which signals are developed and displayed can play a major role not only in how signals are received, but also in coordinating and mediating the signaling phenotype itself. Here we review both well-established and emerging evidence for direct feedbacks among an individual's physiological state, be- havior, and signal elaboration. We then describe an integrative view of signaling that takes into account the bidirectional rela- tionships among components of phenotype and the social context in which signals are developed and displayed. Integrating dy- namic feedback between context and phenotype within models of the evolution and maintenance of signals may yield insights into how signals evolve, how signaling phenotypes are coordinated and maintained on ecological and evolutionary time scales, and how static signals continue to convey relevant phenotypic information about their bearer through time (Current Zoology 60 (6): 739-754, 2014 ).