scholarly journals Chickadee Song Structure is Individually Distinctive Over Long Broadcast Distances

Behaviour ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 141 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Christie ◽  
Daniel Mennill ◽  
Laurene Ratcliffe
Keyword(s):  
Function Analysis ◽  
Temporal Frequency ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Frequency Interval ◽  
Male Quality ◽  
Dominance Status ◽  
Dawn Chorus ◽  
Song Structure ◽  
Winter Flocks ◽  
Relative Quality

AbstractThe two-note fee-bee song of male black-capped chickadees functions during the dawn chorus, in part, as a sexual signal across large distances. How song structure might encode information about male quality, however, remains unclear. We studied the availability of cues to male social rank (a proxy indicator of male quality), within the acoustic structure of dawn chorus songs of male chickadees whose flock dominance status we determined the previous winter. We used analysis of variance and discriminant function analysis to demonstrate that five temporal, frequency or relative amplitude features of song can predict individual identity but not the category of social rank (dominant versus subordinate) to which individuals belong. After transmitting chickadee songs through the forest and re-recording them at four broadcast distances, we found that song structure continued to effectively predict singer identity by our statistical methods despite significant acoustic degradation for as long as songs remained audible (up to 80 m). In particular, the relative frequency interval between the two notes is both the most invariant between-male measure and among the most individually distinctive. We conclude the structure of dawn chorus songs could function across large distances to signal the identity of familiar singing males whose relative quality is known to the listener from other interactions (such as encounters within winter flocks).

Pitch shifts and song structure indicate male quality in the dawn chorus of black-capped chickadees

2004 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 341-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Christie ◽  
Daniel J. Mennill ◽  
Laurene M. Ratcliffe
Keyword(s):  
Male Quality ◽  
Dawn Chorus ◽  
Song Structure

scholarly journals Longevity of Willow Tits (Poecile montanus): the significance of flock membership, social rank and body size

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 13-18
Author(s):  
Olav Hogstad ◽  
Tore Slagsvold
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
High Rank ◽  
Subalpine Forest ◽  
Social Hierarchies ◽  
Willow Tit ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Winter Flocks ◽  
Main Factor

The Willow Tit Poecile montanus is highly sedentary and breeding pairs remain in their exclusive areas throughout the year. During the winter, these areas are defended by small, non-kin flocks, formed as the roaming yearlings become sedentary and join adults during late summer and autumn. Once established, stable social hierarchies are maintained in these flocks during the winter. The winter flocks consist normally of the socially dominant adult mated pair and two mated juvenile pairs, one higher-ranked and one lower-ranked. Individually colour-ringed juvenile Willow Tits were followed over years in subalpine forest in Norway from ringing in the autumn till they disappeared. None of the lower ranked birds survived their first winter, whereas only 4 of 71 higher-ranked juvenile pairs disappeared during this time. Half of the 71 pairs survived their first winter, about 25 % survived two winters, 8.5% survived three winters, and 5.6% survived four winters. Survival was similar for males and females. Alpha pairs remained mated and defended their common territory across years. Maximum age as revealed by ringing showed one female became six years old and two males ringed as adults were at least nine years old when last observed. The main factor associated with survival was early flock establishment that led to a high rank position among the juvenile flock members. Body size seemed insignificant. Birds that survived their first winter either succeeded to establish as territory owners or they were forced into the role as floaters and probably perished.

Vocal performance varies with habitat quality in black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus)

Behaviour ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 149 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thibault Grava ◽  
Ken A. Otter ◽  
Angelique Grava
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Quality ◽  
Food Limitation ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Song Learning ◽  
Vocal Performance ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Poecile Atricapillus ◽  
Song Structure ◽  
Young Forest ◽  
Young Forests

AbstractIn vocal learners, such as songbirds, the ability to maintain an internal acoustic structure between songs during a chorus seems to be positively correlated with the singer’s condition and may, therefore, represent a reliable measure of the singer’s condition. For instance, some internal ratios in the black-capped chickadee ( Poecile atricapillus) fee-beesong are more stable in the song of dominant males than in the song of subordinate males, suggesting that dominant birds are better at maintaining the internal song structure than subordinate males. Habitat quality is also known to affect the behaviour of this species. Birds settling in young forest have a lower song output and lower reproductive success than birds occupying mature forests, and it is suggested that those differences arise from differential food availability across habitats. As recent studies suggest that song performance can be altered by food limitation at the time of song learning, we explore whether habitat quality has a similar effect on the ability to maintain internal song structure as does social rank. We paired males by similar social rank, but who occupied different habitat types, and compared the consistency of male song within his dawn chorus. The ability to maintain an internal song structure of birds occupying young forests was consistently lower than birds occupying mature forests. Our results demonstrate that the same difference that exist in song structure between male differing in social rank also exist between males differing in the habitat in which they sing.

Do Male Black-capped Chickadees Eavesdrop on Song Contests? A Multi-speaker Playback Experiment

Behaviour ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 141 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurene Ratcliffe ◽  
Daniel Mennill
Keyword(s):  
Equilateral Triangle ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
The Other ◽  
Territorial Male ◽  
Territorial Defense ◽  
Dominance Status ◽  
Poecile Atricapillus ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Relative Quality

AbstractWithin a network of communicating individuals, animals may gather information about the relative quality of conspecifics by eavesdropping on their signalling interactions. For territorial male songbirds, eavesdropping may be a low-cost, low-risk method for assessing the relative quality of the males around them. We used a three-speaker playback design to evaluate whether male black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) respond differently to two simulated countersinging intruders who differ only in relative features of their singing performance. We arranged three loudspeakers in an equilateral triangle at the center of playback subjects' territories. After luring males to the first loudspeaker by broadcasting non-song vocalizations, we played songs from the remaining loudspeakers to simulate a countersinging interaction between two male intruders. During the interactions, one simulated intruder consistently overlapped the songs of the other, a behaviour thought to be a signal of directed aggression in songbirds. Territorial male chickadees discriminated between the simulated intruders by preferentially approaching the loudspeaker broadcasting the overlapping signal, suggesting that males eavesdrop on other males' countersinging interactions. Male responses to playback support the idea that overlapping is a more threatening signal than being overlapped. Responses varied with the dominance status of the subject. High-ranking males approached the overlapping loudspeaker in 15 of 16 cases whereas low-ranking males approached the overlapping speaker in only 5 of 10 cases, suggesting that males of different quality may use different tactics for territorial defense.

scholarly journals Novel Competition test for food rewards reveals stable dominance status in rats

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana F Costa ◽  
Marta A Moita ◽  
Cristina Márquez
Keyword(s):  
Home Cage ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Food Competition ◽  
Social Hierarchy ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Agonistic Interactions ◽  
Dominance Status ◽  
Social Hierarchies ◽  
Social Tasks ◽  
Stable Pairs

ABSTRACTSocial hierarchy is a potent modulator of behavior in many species, including humans, that is typically established through overt agonistic interactions between individuals in the group. Once established, social ranks are maintained through subtler interactions allowing the redirection of energy away from agonistic interactions towards other needs. Most of the available tasks for assessing social rank in rodents allow the study of the mechanisms by which social hierarches are formed but fail to assess the maintenance of established hierarchies between stable pairs of animals, which might rely on distinct neurobiological mechanisms. Here we present and validate a novel trial-based dominancy assay, the modified Food Competition test, where established social hierarchies can be identified in the home cage of non-food deprived pairs of male rats. In this task, we introduce a small conflict in the home cage, where access to a new feeder containing palatable pellets can only be gained by one animal at a time. We found that this subtle conflict triggered asymmetric social interactions and resulted in higher consumption of food by one of the animals in the pair. To assess the reliability of the observed asymmetries as reflecting dominance relationships we investigated the behavior of same rat dyads in multiple social tasks adapted from social hierarchy studies. We found a positive correlation in dominance indices across most tests used. Our findings reveal stable dominance status in pair housed rats and provide a novel tool for the evaluation of established social hierarchies, the modified Food Competition test, that is robust and easy to implement, thus expanding the set of tasks available to study dominance in the lab.

Song structure reflects male quality in pied flycatchers, Ficedula hypoleuca

1994 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 869-876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helene M. Lampe ◽  
Yngve O. Espmark
Keyword(s):  
Ficedula Hypoleuca ◽  
Male Quality ◽  
Song Structure

scholarly journals Male Badge Size Predicts Dominance Against Females in House Sparrows

The Condor ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 103 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
András Liker ◽  
Zoltán Barta
Keyword(s):  
Dominance Rank ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Female Dominance ◽  
Dominance Status ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Dominance Relationships ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Status Signal ◽  
Winter Flocks ◽  
Badge Size

Abstract We investigated dominance relationships and the use of male badge size as a status signal in a mixed-sex flock of House Sparrows (Passer domesticus). Specifically, we tested whether females differ from males in their fighting behavior or dominance status, and whether badge size predicts dominance and fighting success of males in male-female fights. We found that both sexes were involved frequently in aggressive encounters, and the mean dominance rank of males did not differ from the mean rank of females. Badge size was the only significant predictor of the dominance rank of males, and was a good predictor of their aggressiveness measured as the proportion of fights initiated. On the other hand, female dominance rank was correlated with body weight. In male-female fights, both the proportion of female-initiated aggressive interactions and the proportion of fights won by females decreased with increasing size of the opponent's badge. Large-badged males dominated more females in dyadic interactions than smaller-badged males. These correlational results suggest that male badge size may be used as a signal of dominance status between male and female House Sparrows in winter flocks.

scholarly journals Environmental Correlates of Song Structure in Forest Grosbeaks and Saltators

The Condor ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo L. Tubaro ◽  
Dario A. Lijtmaer
Keyword(s):  
Principal Components ◽  
Temporal Frequency ◽  
Univariate Analysis ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Independent Contrasts ◽  
Song Structure ◽  
Acoustic Adaptation ◽  
Environmental Correlates ◽  
Components Analysis ◽  
Acoustic Adaptation Hypothesis

AbstractWe compared the song structure of 19 species of forest grosbeaks and saltators based on the songs of 271 individuals recorded from Argentina to Canada, and analyzed their ecological correlates. On each spectrogram we measured eight temporal, frequency, and structural features of the song. Both a principal components analysis and a univariate analysis showed consistent differences in song structure between open and closed habitats. These differences were also found in an independent contrasts analysis, in which phylogenetic relationships between the species of the group were taken into account. In particular, the songs of species living in open habitats had wider bandwidths and higher maximum frequencies than those of species living in more closed habitats. In addition, the songs of open-habitat species had more notes, which were of shorter duration. These findings are compatible with predictions derived from the Acoustic Adaptation Hypothesis, according to which bird song structure is adapted to the habitat in which the signal is used.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document