Animals communicating interactively with conspecifics often time their broadcasts to avoid overlapping interference, to emit leading, as opposed to following, signals or to synchronize their signalling rhythms. Each of these adjustments becomes more difficult as the number of interactants increases beyond a pair. Among acoustic species, insects and anurans generally deal with the problem of group signalling by means of ‘selective attention’ in which they focus on several close or conspicuous neighbours and ignore the rest. In these animals, where signalling and receiving are often dictated by sex, the process of selective attention in signallers may have a parallel counterpart in receivers, which also focus on close neighbours. In birds and mammals, local groups tend to be extended families or clans, and group signalling may entail complex timing mechanisms that allow for attention to all individuals. In general, the mechanisms that allow animals to communicate in groups appear to be fully interwoven with the basic process of rhythmic signalling.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology’.

与同种动物进行交互交流的动物经常对它们的广播进行计时，以避免重叠干扰，发出领先的信号，而不是跟随信号，或者同步它们的信号节奏。随着交互者的数量增加到超过一对，这些调整中的每一个都变得更加困难。在声学物种中，昆虫和无尾类动物通常通过“选择性注意”来处理群体信号问题，其中它们专注于几个密切或显眼的邻居，而忽略其余的。在这些动物中，信号和接收通常由性别决定，信号器的选择性注意过程可能在接收器中具有平行对应物，也关注近邻。在鸟类和哺乳动物中，本地群体往往是大家庭或氏族，和群发信号可能需要复杂的计时机制，以使所有人都能得到关注。一般来说，允许动物群体交流的机制似乎与节奏信号的基本过程完全交织在一起。

这篇文章是主题问题“同步和节奏交互：从大脑到行为生态学”的一部分。