scholarly journals Song Sparrow (Melospiza Melodia) Song Varies with Urban Noise

The Auk ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 123 (3) ◽  
pp. 650-659 ◽  
Author(s):  
William E. Wood ◽  
Stephen M. Yezerinac
Keyword(s):  
Ambient Noise ◽  
Behavioral Plasticity ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Melospiza Melodia ◽  
Anthropogenic Noise ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Song Sparrows ◽  
Rural Environments

Abstract In urban environments, anthropogenic noise may mask bird song, especially the notes occurring at lower frequencies (1–2 kHz). Birds living in urban environments may modify their songs, particularly the low-frequency portions, to minimize masking by anthropogenic noise. Such modifications have been observed in Great Tits (Parus major) in The Netherlands, as well as in some mammals. We studied Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia), which are common in both urban and rural environments in much of North America, and recorded the songs of 28 free- living males in Portland, Oregon. We also measured the amplitude and spectrum of ambient noise at singing locations. Song Sparrows singing at noisier locations exhibited higher-frequency low notes and had relatively less energy (amplitude) in the low-frequency range of their songs (1–4 kHz), where most anthropogenic noise also occurred. Although the mechanism(s) producing the correlation are as yet undetermined, the observed match between song and noise may result from behavioral plasticity. We discuss explanations for these patterns and how to test them. Le Chant de Melospiza melodia Varie avec le Bruit Urbain

scholarly journals Fitness Correlates of Song Repertoire Size in Free‐Living Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia)

2005 ◽  
Vol 165 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane M. Reid ◽  
Peter Arcese ◽  
Alice L. E. V. Cassidy ◽  
Sara M. Hiebert ◽  
James N. M. Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Melospiza Melodia ◽  
Repertoire Size ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Song Repertoire ◽  
Song Sparrows

scholarly journals Long-term maternal effect on offspring immune response in song sparrows Melospiza melodia

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 573-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane M Reid ◽  
Peter Arcese ◽  
Lukas F Keller ◽  
Dennis Hasselquist
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Time Scales ◽  
Parasitic Infection ◽  
Antibody Responses ◽  
Melospiza Melodia ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Humoral Immune ◽  
Song Sparrows

Knowledge of the causes of variation in host immunity to parasitic infection and the time-scales over which variation persists, is integral to predicting the evolutionary and epidemiological consequences of host–parasite interactions. It is clear that offspring immunity can be influenced by parental immune experience, for example, reflecting transfer of antibodies from mothers to young offspring. However, it is less clear whether such parental effects persist or have functional consequences over longer time-scales, linking a parent's previous immune experience to future immune responsiveness in fully grown offspring. We used free-living song sparrows ( Melospiza melodia ) to quantify long-term effects of parental immune experience on offspring immune response. We experimentally vaccinated parents with a novel antigen and tested whether parental vaccination influenced the humoral antibody response mounted by fully grown offspring hatched the following year. Parental vaccination did not influence offspring baseline antibody titres. However, offspring of vaccinated mothers mounted substantially stronger antibody responses than offspring of unvaccinated mothers. Antibody responses did not differ between offspring of vaccinated and unvaccinated fathers. These data demonstrate substantial long-term effects of maternal immune experience on the humoral immune response of fully grown offspring in free-living birds.

scholarly journals The comparative evidence for urban species sorting by anthropogenic noise

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 172059 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gonçalo C. Cardoso ◽  
Yang Hu ◽  
Clinton D. Francis
Keyword(s):  
Bird Species ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Species Traits ◽  
Anthropogenic Noise ◽  
Additional Species ◽  
Species Sorting ◽  
Urban Living ◽  
Rural Environments ◽  
Song Frequency

Anthropogenic noise is more intense at lower sound frequencies, which could decrease urban tolerance of animals with low-frequency vocalizations. Four large comparative studies tested whether anthropogenic noise filters bird species according to the sound frequencies they use and produced discrepant results. We reanalysed data from these studies to explain their different results. Urban tolerance of bird species (defined here as often occurring and breeding in cities) is very weakly related to urban preference or relative abundance (defined based on changes in population density from urban to nearby rural environments). Data on urban preference/abundance are potentially accurate for individual cities but differ among cities for the same species, whereas existing data on urban tolerance are coarser but provide a more global synthesis. Cross-species comparisons find a positive association between the sound frequency of song and urban tolerance, but not urban preference/abundance. We found that showing an association between song frequency and urban tolerance requires controlling for additional species traits that influence urban living. On the contrary, controlling for other species traits is not required to show a positive association between song frequency and use of noisy relative to quiet areas within the same type of environment. Together, comparative evidence indicates that masking by urban noise is part of a larger set of factors influencing urban living: all else being equal, species with high-frequency sounds are more likely to tolerate cities than species with low-frequency sounds, but they are not more likely to prefer, or to be more abundant in, urban than non-urban habitats.

scholarly journals Inbreeding effects on immune response in free-living song sparrows ( Melospiza melodia )

2006 ◽  
Vol 274 (1610) ◽  
pp. 697-706 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane M Reid ◽  
Peter Arcese ◽  
Lukas F Keller ◽  
Kyle H Elliott ◽  
Laura Sampson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Inbreeding Depression ◽  
Parasitic Infection ◽  
Melospiza Melodia ◽  
Primary Antibody ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Multiple Components ◽  
Song Sparrows ◽  
Primary Antibody Response ◽  
Immune Challenges

The consequences of inbreeding for host immunity to parasitic infection have broad implications for the evolutionary and dynamical impacts of parasites on populations where inbreeding occurs. To rigorously assess the magnitude and the prevalence of inbreeding effects on immunity, multiple components of host immune response should be related to inbreeding coefficient ( f ) in free-living individuals. We used a pedigreed, free-living population of song sparrows ( Melospiza melodia ) to test whether individual responses to widely used experimental immune challenges varied consistently with f . The patagial swelling response to phytohaemagglutinin declined markedly with f in both females and males in both 2002 and 2003, although overall inbreeding depression was greater in males. The primary antibody response to tetanus toxoid declined with f in females but not in males in both 2004 and 2005. Primary antibody responses to diphtheria toxoid were low but tended to decline with f in 2004. Overall inbreeding depression did not solely reflect particularly strong immune responses in outbred offspring of immigrant–native pairings or weak responses in highly inbred individuals. These data indicate substantial and apparently sex-specific inbreeding effects on immune response, implying that inbred hosts may be relatively susceptible to parasitic infection to differing degrees in males and females.

scholarly journals Ambient noise from ocean surf drives frequency shifts in non-passerine bird song

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Sebastianelli ◽  
Daniel T. Blumstein ◽  
Alexander N. G. Kirschel
Keyword(s):  
Background Noise ◽  
Ambient Noise ◽  
Selective Pressure ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Passerine Bird ◽  
Anthropogenic Noise ◽  
Masking Effect ◽  
Frequency Noise ◽  
Natural Noise

AbstractEffective communication in birds is often hampered by background noise, with many recent studies focusing on the effect of anthropogenic noise on passerine bird song. Continuous low-frequency natural noise is predicted to drive changes in both frequency and temporal patterning of bird vocalizations, but the extent to which these effects may also affect birds that lack vocal learning is not yet fully understood. Here we use a gradient of exposure to natural low-frequency noise to assess whether it exerts selective pressure on vocalizations in a species whose songs are innate. We tested whether three species of Pogoniulus tinkerbirds adapt their song when exposed to a source of continuous low-frequency noise from ocean surf. We show that dominant frequency increases the closer birds are to the coast in all the three species, and in line with higher noise levels, indicating that ocean surf sound may apply a selective pressure on tinkerbird songs. As a consequence, tinkerbirds adapt their songs with an increase in frequency to avoid the masking effect due to overlapping frequencies with ambient noise, therefore improving long-range communication with intended receivers. Our study provides for the first time, compelling evidence that natural ambient noise affects vocalizations in birds whose songs are developed innately. We believe that our results can also be extrapolated in the context of anthropogenic noise pollution, hence providing a baseline for the study of the effects of low-frequency ambient noise on birds that lack vocal learning.Significance StatementBirdsong is constantly under selection as it mediates key interactions such as mate attraction, competition with same-sex individuals for reproduction and competition with heterospecifics for space-related resources. Any phenomenon that interferes with communication can therefore have a profound impact on individual fitness. Passerines are more likely to avoid the masking effect of background noise because of their higher vocal flexibility. Many non-passerine species lacking such flexibility might therefore be more vulnerable to the negative effects on their fitness of exposure to low-frequency background noise. Species incapable of adapting their signals to background noise are predicted to disappear from noisy areas. Despite this, we show that species that lack song learning may show an adaptive response to natural noise which may develop over evolutionary timescales.

scholarly journals Fitness Correlates of Song Repertoire Size in Free-Living Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia)

2005 ◽  
Vol 165 (3) ◽  
pp. 299
Author(s):  
Reid ◽  
Arcese ◽  
Alice L. E. V. Cassidy ◽  
Hiebert ◽  
James N. M. Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Melospiza Melodia ◽  
Repertoire Size ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Song Repertoire ◽  
Song Sparrows

scholarly journals Multi-modal communication: song sparrows increase signal redundancy in noise

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 20190513
Author(s):  
Çağlar Akçay ◽  
Michael D. Beecher
Keyword(s):  
Animal Communication ◽  
Acoustic Noise ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Anthropogenic Noise ◽  
Visual Modality ◽  
Modal Shift ◽  
Song Sparrows ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Shift Hypothesis ◽  
Song Playback

Although the effects of anthropogenic noise on animal communication have been studied widely, most research on the effect of noise in communication has focused on signals in a single modality. Consequently, how multi-modal communication is affected by anthropogenic noise is relatively poorly understood. Here, we ask whether song sparrows ( Melospiza melodia ) show evidence of plasticity in response to noise in two aggressive signals in acoustic and visual modalities. We test two hypotheses: (i) that song sparrows will shift signalling effort to the visual modality (the multi-modal shift hypothesis) and (ii) that they will increase redundancy of their multi-modal signalling (the back-up signal hypothesis). We presented male song sparrows with song playback and a taxidermic mount with or without a low-frequency acoustic noise from a nearby speaker. We found that males did not switch their signalling effort to visual modality (i.e. wing waves) in response to the noise. However, the correlation between warbled soft songs and wing waves increased in the noise treatment, i.e. signals became more redundant. These results suggest that when faced with anthropogenic noise, song sparrows can increase the redundancy of their multi-modal signals, which may aid in the robustness of the communication system.

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