This study shows the importance of the basic spectro-temporal song parameters in territorial contests between male songbirds. Chiffchaff and willow warbler were selected as model species for their phylogenetic and ecological similarity, strong territorial behaviour, but very different singing styles. We found that bigger males of both species sing lower pitched songs and that males of both species adjust their behaviour according to song pitch of their rival simulated by playback. Thus, it seems that both species use song pitch to acoustically assess the body size of their rivals. We also show that song length and syllable rate are important features of the song, probably signalling short-term motivation to escalate territorial conflict.

FundaÃÃo Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Cientifico e TecnolÃgico / Territorial fights between males are frequently observed among insects. However, despite the existence of theoretical models directed at explaining the possible rules adopted to decide the winner, there is little empirical support for these models. The low empirical support may be explained by difficulties in identifying traits that determine the male fighting capacity (RHP- or Resource Holding Potential) and also by the lack of simultaneous tests of different models. In this study we evaluated males traits that may determine RHP in the dragonfly Diastatops obscura. Also, we evaluated the relationship between such characteristics and duration of disputes between pairs of males to test predictions derived from the models War of Attrition (GDA), Sequential Access Information (ASI) and Cumulative Access Information (ACI). Male weight was the main feature related to the winning chances. The dispute duration decreases with increasing weight and presented the opposite pattern for the loser male, rejecting the GDA as the decision rule adopted by males to settle territorial interactions. In addition the duration of the dispute was not related to the loser male weight when we considered only pairs of rivals who presented similar weight differences. This indicates that the rivals make mutual assessment of RHP, as assumed by the model ASI. Since wings are highly melanized, we suggest that males may perform rival assessments of RHP based on wings traits, as occur in odonate species. / Apesar das brigas entre os machos serem frequentes e de existirem modelos teÃricos que postulam possÃveis regras usadas para decisÃo do vencedor, pouco suporte empÃrico direcionado ao entendimento das brigas tem sido encontrado. Provavelmente esse fato ocorre devido à dificuldade em identificar quais caracterÃsticas determinam a capacidade de luta (RHP - Resource Holding Potential) dos indivÃduos e na escassez de testes simultÃneos de diferentes modelos. Neste trabalho, usamos machos da libÃlula Diastatops obscura para identificar caracterÃsticas determinantes do RHP. Posteriormente usamos informaÃÃes sobre a relaÃÃo entre tais caracterÃsticas e a duraÃÃo das disputas entre pares de machos para testar previsÃes derivadas dos modelos Guerra de Atritos (GDA), Acesso Sequencial de InformaÃÃo (ASI) e Acesso Cumulativo de InformaÃÃo (ACI). O peso representou a principal caracterÃstica determinante da chance de vitÃria em uma disputa. A duraÃÃo da disputa diminuiu com o aumento do peso do vencedor e aumentou com o aumento de peso do perdedor, refutando o modelo GDA como explicaÃÃo das regras de resoluÃÃo das brigas. Adicionalmente a duraÃÃo da disputa nÃo esteve relacionada com o peso do macho perdedor quando consideramos apenas pares de rivais que apresentaram diferenÃas semelhantes de peso. Isso indica que os rivais fazem avaliaÃÃo mÃtua do RHP, como presumido pelo modelo ASI. Uma vez que as asas sÃo fortemente melanizadas, sugerimos que eles podem realizar avaliaÃÃes da capacidade de luta ao obter informaÃÃes sobre a coloraÃÃo das asas, como ocorre em outras espÃcies de libÃlulas.