Chapter 1 Environmental Acoustics and the Evolution of Bird Song

Brumm, Henrik; Naguib, Marc

doi:10.1016/s0065-3454(09)40001-9

Cited by 178 publications

(145 citation statements)

References 128 publications

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“…Although there has been some support for the hypothesis from work with birds and mammals (Boncoraglio and Saino, 2007;Brumm and Naguib, 2009;Ey and Fischer, 2009), to date for anurans, there have been relatively few data generated consistent with its predictions (Ey and Fischer, 2009;Wells, 2007). Our study was not designed to test the hypothesis directly but our results bear important relevance to it.…”

Section: Tolerant Receivers and The Acoustic Adaptation Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 79%

Sound transmission and the recognition of temporally degraded sexual advertisement signals in Cope's gray treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis)

Kuczynski

Vélez

Schwartz

et al. 2010

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYAcoustic communication signals degrade as they propagate between signalers and receivers. While we generally understand the degrading effects of sound propagation on the structure of acoustic signals, we know considerably less about how receivers make behavioral decisions based on the perception of degraded signals in sonically and structurally complex habitats where communication occurs. In this study of acoustic mate recognition in Cope's gray treefrog, Hyla chrysoscelis (Cope 1880), we investigated how the temporal structure of male advertisement calls was compromised by propagation in a natural habitat and how females responded to stimuli mimicking various levels of temporal degradation. In a sound transmission experiment, we quantified changes in the pulsed structure of signals by broadcasting synthetic calls during active choruses from positions where we typically encountered signalers, and re-recording the signals from positions where we typically encountered potential receivers. Our main finding was that the silent gaps between pulses become increasingly 'filled in' by background noise and reverberations as a function of increasing propagation distance. We also conducted female phonotaxis experiments to determine the threshold modulation depth required to elicit recognition of the pulsatile structure of the call. Females were surprisingly tolerant of degraded temporal structure, and there was a tendency for greater permissiveness at lower playback levels. We discuss these results in terms of presumed mechanisms of call recognition in complex environments and the acoustic adaptation hypothesis.

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Section: Tolerant Receivers and The Acoustic Adaptation Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 79%

Sound transmission and the recognition of temporally degraded sexual advertisement signals in Cope's gray treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis)

Kuczynski

Vélez

Schwartz

et al. 2010

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…Bird vocalizations are signals adapted to propagate through an environment (Brumm & Naguib 2009) and as more 'sound space' becomes available over a latitudinal gradient, songs may become more complex (Weir et al 2012). The availability of sound space is negatively influenced by the amount of background noise generated by other animals (especially insects), the closeness of habitat (i.e.…”

Section: Ecological Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relationship between latitude, migration and the evolution of bird song complexity

Najar

Benedict

2018

Ibis

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For the past several decades it has been proposed that birds show latitudinal variation in song complexity. How universal this variation may be and what factors generate it, however, are still largely unknown. Furthermore, while migration is confounded with latitude, migratory behaviour alone may also be associated with variation in song complexity. In this paper we review the literature to assess current ideas on how latitude and migratory behaviour may drive large-scale geographical patterns of song complexity. At least seven distinct hypotheses have been proposed in 29 studies of the topic. Four of these hypotheses posit that sexual selection pressures co-vary with latitude and/or migration, resulting in concordant changes in song. Other hypotheses suggest that mechanisms other than sexual selection, such as large-scale changes in environmental sound transmission properties, may be at play. Sixteen studies found support for increased song complexity with increased latitude and/or migration, whereas 13 did not. Relatively few studies exist on this topic, and methodological differences between them and variable definitions of 'complexity' make it difficult to determine whether results are comparable and concordant. At a minimum, it is possible to conclude there is no strong evidence that song complexity increases with latitude and/or migration in all birds. Future work should focus on examining multiple hypotheses at once to further advance our understanding of how latitude, migration and song complexity may or may not be related.

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“…However, the communication potential of pilot whales is not only affected by pneumatic limitations in their sound production system, but also shaped by other environmental factors such as absorption, reverberation and background noise [7]. Changes in the sound speed throughout a medium will result in refraction of sound waves that shapes the communication space of vertically moving animals [55].…”

Section: (B) Call Frequency Content Is Robust To Changes In Depthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Calling under pressure: short-finned pilot whales make social calls during deep foraging dives

et al. 2011

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Toothed whales rely on sound to echolocate prey and communicate with conspecifics, but little is known about how extreme pressure affects pneumatic sound production in deep-diving species with a limited air supply. The short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) is a highly social species among the deep-diving toothed whales, in which individuals socialize at the surface but leave their social group in pursuit of prey at depths of up to 1000 m. To investigate if these animals communicate acoustically at depth and test whether hydrostatic pressure affects communication signals, acoustic DTAGs logging sound, depth and orientation were attached to 12 pilot whales. Tagged whales produced tonal calls during deep foraging dives at depths of up to 800 m. Mean call output and duration decreased with depth despite the increased distance to conspecifics at the surface. This shows that the energy content of calls is lower at depths where lungs are collapsed and where the air volume available for sound generation is limited by ambient pressure. Frequency content was unaffected, providing a possible cue for group or species identification of diving whales. Social calls may be important to maintain social ties for foraging animals, but may be impacted adversely by vessel noise.

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Chapter 1 Environmental Acoustics and the Evolution of Bird Song

Cited by 178 publications

References 128 publications

Sound transmission and the recognition of temporally degraded sexual advertisement signals in Cope's gray treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis)

Sound transmission and the recognition of temporally degraded sexual advertisement signals in Cope's gray treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis)

The relationship between latitude, migration and the evolution of bird song complexity

Calling under pressure: short-finned pilot whales make social calls during deep foraging dives

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