Are vocal signals used to recognize individuals during male–male competition in greater prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus cupido)?

Hale, Jennifer; Nelson, Douglas A.; Augustine, Jacqueline K.

doi:10.1007/s00265-014-1751-6

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…obs.). Whereas most birds have optimal auditory sensitivity between 2–3 kHz (Bevan et al 2018), prairie‐chickens likely have a sensitivity range much lower because the vocalizations of prairie‐chickens are low (320 Hz for greater prairie‐chicken, Hale et al 2014; 500–1000 Hz for lesser prairie‐chicken, Hagen and Giesen 2020). This low‐frequency sensitivity may make prairie‐chickens particularly sensitive to the low‐frequency sounds produced by drones (Erbe et al 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of unmanned aerial vehicles for surveys of lek‐mating grouse

Augustine

Burchfield

2022

Wildlife Society Bulletin

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Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, are being utilized by wildlife biologists to monitor populations of birds and mammals. However, the reaction of wildlife to drones varies by species, so a preliminary evaluation must be conducted to determine if the target species can be detected via drone footage and to determine how the target species will react to drone presence. Lek-mating prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus spp.) seem amenable to drone-based surveys because they are relatively large and display in groups on elevated sites with sparse vegetation. The goal of our study was to determine what flight characteristics maximize prairie-chicken detection on drone video footage, to document the birds' reactions to the drones, and to compare how the noise produced by the drones compares to ambient sounds. We tested 3 sizes of rotary-winged drones, flown at 3 heights, with 3 different camera angles by flying over known prairie-chicken leks.We determined that >65% of prairie-chickens present were detected using video footage at a height of 100 m with a 10°c amera angle. Drones of different sizes had similar detectability. However, observers in blinds adjacent to leks routinely detected more birds than were detected on drone footage (detection on drone footage was 39.7 ± 9.6% of birds present).Prairie-chickens flushed in 96% of trials when a drone was flown over display locations. Time to return to the lek following drone disturbance was similar to prairie-chickens' reactions to natural predators. Prairie-chickens flushed when drone sound levels were comparable to ambient noise. Developing guidelines for the ethical use of drones in wildlife research will

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of unmanned aerial vehicles for surveys of lek‐mating grouse

Augustine

Burchfield

2022

Wildlife Society Bulletin

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“…Individual variation was found in the male Houbara Bustard ( Chlamydotis undulata undulata ), which produces sounds called booms during courtship ( Cornec, Hingrat & Rybak, 2014 ). Acoustic variation between individuals was also investigated in the Greater Prairie-chicken ( Tympanuchus cupido ) and the boom vocalization of this species was found to have individual characteristics ( Hale, Nelson & Augustine, 2014 ). Thanks to temporal patterns, along with the number of drumming strokes, it is possible to discriminate individuals of the Great Spotted Woodpecker ( Dendrocopos major ) ( Budka et al, 2018 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acoustic individuality in the hissing calls of the male black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix)

Hambálková¹,

Policht²,

Horák³

et al. 2021

PeerJ

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Acoustic individuality may well play a big role during the mating season of many birds. Black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix) produces two different long-distance calls during mating on leks: rookooing and hissing calls. The first one represents low frequency series of bubbling sounds and the second one represents hissing sound. This hissing represents a signal not produced by the syrinx. We analyzed 426 hissing calls from 24 individuals in Finland and Scotland. We conducted cross-validated discrimination analyses (DFA). The discrimination model classified each call with almost 78% accuracy (conventional result) and the validated DFA revealed 71% output, that is much higher than classification by chance (4%). The most important variables were Frequency 95%, 1st Quartile Frequency, Aggregate Entropy and Duration 90%. We also tested whether between individual variation is higher than within individual variation using PIC (Potential for individual coding) and we found that all acoustic parameters had PIC > 1. We confirmed that hissing call of black grouse is individually distinct. In comparison to the signals produced by the syrinx, non-vocal sounds have been studied rarely and according to our knowledge, this is the second evidence of vocal individuality in avian hissing sounds which are not produced by syrinx. Individuality in the vocalization of the male black grouse may aid females in mating partner selection, and for males it may enable competitor recognition and assessment. Individually distinct hissing calls could be of possible use to monitor individuals on leks. Such a method could overcome problems during traditional monitoring methods of this species, when one individual can be counted multiple times, because catching and traditional marking is problematic in this species.

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“…In contrast, male vocalizations that blend to form the chorus may have a local function for male-male competition for space or for access to females already attending a lek (Hale et al, 2014). The mating success of male greater prairie-chickens increases as males vocalize more frequently (Nooker & Sandercock, 2008).…”

Section: -Male-male Competitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Variation in the sound level of the male chorus may be a function of the activity and number of males signaling at a given lek site. Hale, Nelson, and Augustine () found that male greater prairie‐chickens vocalized at higher rates in the presence of additional vocal signals broadcast from an audio speaker. However, the possibility that a large number of male signalers increases the chorus amplitude and the active space of the signal (the maximum distance at which a signal can be detected) that allows it to be heard at greater distances from the lek has not been documented (Hovick, Dahlgren, Papes, Elmore, & Pitman, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wind turbine noise limits propagation of greater prairie‐chicken boom chorus, but does it matter?

et al. 2019

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Acoustic signals are often critical elements of mating displays, and lekking male greater prairie‐chickens (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) use their boom vocalization for this purpose. We quantified the acoustic characteristics of the boom chorus created by multiple male greater prairie‐chickens vocalizing simultaneously at leks in Brown County, NE, USA, in 2013 and 2014. We used these data to evaluate (a) the role of the boom chorus in prairie‐chicken breeding dynamics and (b) the impact of a wind energy facility on the acoustic signal of the boom chorus. We sampled the chorus using audio recorders placed in transects extending from leks; the chorus exhibited an average peak frequency of 297 ± 13 Hz. The mean chorus signal‐to‐noise ratio declined from 15.7 dB (50 m) to 2.6 dB (800 m), and wind speed and direction, topography, and relative humidity caused variation in signal‐to‐noise ratio at a given distance and location. Chorus recordings from leks within 1,000 m of a wind turbine had lower signal‐to‐noise ratio (βturbine = −5.659, SE = 1.289) than leks farther from turbines. The chorus signal‐to‐noise ratio increased slightly with more males present on the lek (~0.1 dB for each additional male; βmales = 0.177; SE = 0.037) and considerably more as more females visited the lek (~1.4 dB for each additional female; βfemales = 2.498, SE = 0.235; βfemales2 = −0.309, SE = 0.039). Our results provide support for the signal enhancement hypothesis that proposes the boom chorus is influenced notably by male–male competition for females on the lek, rather than functioning solely to advertise the presence of the lek to recruit females. Our results also suggest the choruses emanating from small leks have the greatest potential to be masked by anthropogenic (wind turbine) noise, which may affect the breeding success of male and female prairie‐chickens.

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Are vocal signals used to recognize individuals during male–male competition in greater prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus cupido)?

Cited by 10 publications

References 47 publications

Evaluation of unmanned aerial vehicles for surveys of lek‐mating grouse

Evaluation of unmanned aerial vehicles for surveys of lek‐mating grouse

Acoustic individuality in the hissing calls of the male black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix)

Wind turbine noise limits propagation of greater prairie‐chicken boom chorus, but does it matter?

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