caa a22 4500 605462453 CHVBK 20210128100248.0 cr unu---uuuuu 210128e20151001xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10211-014-0209-1 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10211-014-0209-1 The importance of syntax in a dynamic visual signal: recognition of jacky dragon displays depends upon sequence [Elektronische Daten] [Kevin Woo, Guillaume Rieucau] It is well established that recognition of complex acoustic signals, such as bird song, is dependent upon the temporal ordering of signal units or syntax. Much less is known about functionally analogous visual displays. The jacky dragon (Amphibolurus muricatus) is a native Australian agamid lizard with a highly stereotyped visual display made up of three discrete motor patterns. We conducted a playback experiment using high-resolution computer animations of conspecifics to test the importance of temporal order for signal efficacy. Lizards were shown three different life-sized simulated animations of conspecific differing in their skin texture and morphology signatures ranging from highly natural to abnormal. We evaluated signal recognition and assessed the relative importance of syntax and morphology. Our results showed that signal recognition is highly sensitive to syntax and this largely determines the observers' behavioural responses. Stimuli with abnormal texture and shape were highly effective, as long as the natural order of motor patterns was preserved. Display recognition in jacky lizards hence depends upon syntax in just the same way as temporally constrained signals in other modalities. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg and ISPA, 2014 Jacky dragon nationallicence Amphibolurus muricatus nationallicence Syntax nationallicence Morphology nationallicence Visual display nationallicence Computer animation nationallicence Woo Kevin SUNY Empire State College, Metropolitan Center, 325 Hudson Street, 10013-1005, New York, NY, USA aut Rieucau Guillaume Institute of Marine Research, P.O. Box 1870 Nordnes, 5817, Bergen, Norway aut acta ethologica Springer Berlin Heidelberg 18/3(2015-10-01), 255-263 0873-9749 18:3<255 2015 18 10211 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-014-0209-1 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-014-0209-1 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Woo Kevin SUNY Empire State College, Metropolitan Center, 325 Hudson Street, 10013-1005, New York, NY, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Rieucau Guillaume Institute of Marine Research, P.O. Box 1870 Nordnes, 5817, Bergen, Norway aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- acta ethologica Springer Berlin Heidelberg 18/3(2015-10-01), 255-263 0873-9749 18:3<255 2015 18 10211