Song Variation and Persistence of Song Neighborhoods in a Lekking Hummingbird

Abstract Most birds that show geographic variation in their songs discriminate between local and foreign songs, which may help them avoid unnecessary conflicts with vagrant individuals or similar-sounding congeners. However, some species respond equally to foreign and local songs, which may be useful if foreign individuals present territorial threats or if there are no sympatric congeners to avoid. Species without sympatric congeners are not commonly tested in playback studies, but they offer an opportunity to see how song variation and recognition unfolds when the pressure to avoid similar congeners is absent. Here, we use Verdins (Auriparus flaviceps), a monotypic genus of songbird with no confamilials in North America, to explore song variation and recognition in a species living without close relatives. We assessed geographic variation in song across the Verdin range and conducted a playback experiment using exemplars from 2 acoustically divergent and geographically distant regions as treatments. We found significant geographic variation in song that mapped well onto ecologically distinct desert regions. We found that Verdins had stronger vocal responses to local-sounding songs, but had equal movement responses to local-sounding and foreign songs. These results are similar to results found in other species without sympatric congeners and provide an example of a species that investigates acoustically divergent conspecific songs, despite recognizing salient differences in those songs.

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GEOGRAPHIC SONG VARIATION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES IN THE GOLDEN BOWERBIRD

The Condor ◽

10.1650/0010-5422(2002)104[0750:gsvaic]2.0.co;2 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 104 (4) ◽

pp. 750 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

David A. Westcott ◽

Frederieke J. Kroon

Keyword(s):

Song Variation

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Geographic isolation drives divergence of uncorrelated genetic and song variation in the Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush ( Catharus frantzii ; Aves: Turdidae)

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution ◽

10.1016/j.ympev.2015.08.017 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 94 ◽

pp. 74-86 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Marco F. Ortiz-Ramírez ◽

Michael J. Andersen ◽

Alejandro Zaldívar-Riverón ◽

Juan Francisco Ornelas ◽

Adolfo G. Navarro-Sigüenza

Keyword(s):

Geographic Isolation ◽

Song Variation

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Geographic patterns of song variation in four species of Malurus fairy-wrens

Journal of Avian Biology ◽

10.1111/jav.01446 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 49 (2) ◽

pp. jav-01446 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

David D. Yandell ◽

Wesley M. Hochachka ◽

Stephen Pruett-Jones ◽

Michael S. Webster ◽

Emma I. Greig

Keyword(s):

Song Variation ◽

Geographic Patterns

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Song Structure and Microgeographic Song Variation in Wedge-Tailed Sabrewings (Campylopterus Curvipennis) in Veracruz, Mexico

The Auk ◽

10.1093/auk/122.2.593 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 122 (2) ◽

pp. 593-607 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Clementina González ◽

Juan Francisco Ornelas

Keyword(s):

Geographic Region ◽

Arithmetic Mean ◽

Floral Resources ◽

Group Method ◽

Complex Signals ◽

Document Structure ◽

Song Variation ◽

Pair Group ◽

Well Differentiated ◽

Acoustic Variation

AbstractWe studied the songs of Wedge-tailed Sabrewings (Campylopterus curvipennis) in six localities from central Veracruz, Mexico, to document structure and variation within and between singing groups in the same geographic region. Wedgetailed Sabrewing songs were acoustically, structurally, and behaviorally complex, rivaling those of other taxa with complex signals. Songs of individual birds were composed of >45 well-differentiated and structurally complex syllables. We found 239 different syllable types across eight recorded singing groups of Wedge-tailed Sabrewings (∼20 syllable types per singing group), with the greatest versatility recorded in hummingbirds to date. The acoustic variation (15 variables) was summarized in three principal components (58% of acoustic variation), in which intragroup variability accounted for most of the observed variation. We found significant differences between and within groups in terms of syllable sharing (Jaccard’s similarity coefficient). Individuals generally shared >50% of syllable types within groups, whereas syllable sharing was <10% between individuals from different groups. The same microgeographic pattern was supported in a UPGMA (unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic mean) analysis where individual songs from each singing group clustered separately. However, songs recorded at the same location differed between seasons, which suggests that this species does not exhibit geographically distinct dialects that are consistent across time. The interplay among this species’ social system, distribution of its floral resources, and microgeographic and temporal variation of its song requires further research.

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Contrasting patterns of geographical song variation in two closely related passerine species with a simple song

Journal of Ornithology ◽

10.1007/s10336-021-01924-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ivana Czocherová ◽

Lucia Rubáčová ◽

Adam Petrusek ◽

Tereza Petrusková

Keyword(s):

Song Variation ◽

Passerine Species

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Low courtship song variation in South and Southeastern Brazilian populations of Drosophila meridionalis (Diptera, Drosophilidae)

Revista Brasileira de Biologia ◽

10.1590/s0034-71082000000100008 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 60 (1) ◽

pp. 53-61 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

C. T. A. COSTA ◽

G. C. S. KUHN ◽

F. M. SENE

Keyword(s):

South America ◽

Taxonomic Status ◽

Wide Distribution ◽

Courtship Song ◽

Southeastern Brazil ◽

Metaphase Chromosomes ◽

Song Variation ◽

Chromosomal Variability ◽

Karyotypic Variation ◽

Brazilian Populations

Drosophila meridionalis is a cactus-breeding species with a wide distribution in South America. Most populations of this species are geographically isolated, what provides a promising scenario for studying evolution. Former studies of this species revealed a remarkable karyotypic variation among its populations. Up to six distinct metaphase chromosomes were described, showing that this species is polymorphic at least at the chromosomal level. In order to elucidate the taxonomic status of populations showing different metaphase chromosomes, we analyzed the courtship song of five populations of D. meridionalis in South and Southeastern Brazil. In addition, we analyzed the metaphase chromossomes of each population. Our results show that, despite the two karyotype observed, most courtship song parameters did not vary among the populations. Altogether, our results suggest that D. meridionalis from South and Southeastern Brazil represents one species with an inter-population chromosomal variability.

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Geographic Variation in Song of Gambel's White-Crowned Sparrow

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/156853998793066258 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 135 (3) ◽

pp. 321-342 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Douglas Nelson

Keyword(s):

Species Recognition ◽

Local Level ◽

Acoustic Features ◽

Long Distance ◽

Zonotrichia Leucophrys ◽

Song Recognition ◽

Song Variation ◽

Males And Females ◽

Dialect Recognition ◽

Song Types

AbstractWhite-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) song varies geographically, often forming local 'dialects' in sedentary and short-distance migratory subspecies. In playback experiments males and females can distinguish this variation. Gambel's white-crowned sparrow (Z. L. gambelii) is a long-distance migrant that breeds across subarctic Canada and Alaska. Previous studies identified a wide degree of song variation within local populations of this subspecies. I compared songs recorded in Alaska and Churchill, Manitoba, and found significant differences in acoustic structure. As in other subspecies, the most prominent differences occurred in the terminal trill portion of the song. In a playback experiment to territorial males at Churchill, males gave equivalent strong responses to both Alaska and local gambelii song, significantly weaker responses to mountain white-crowned sparrow (Z. L. oriantha) song, and the weakest responses to heterospecific song. I describe a model of song recognition in which 'dialect recognition' is a component of species recognition. I conclude that as a consequence of differences in the timing of song learning, the subspecies of white-crowned sparrow may differ in the acoustic features that they attend to in song recognition. The diversity of song types at a local level within gambelii populations may interfere with recognizing song differences between populations.

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Song Variation in Dark-Eyed Juncos in Nova Scotia

The Condor ◽

10.2307/1367926 ◽

1978 ◽

Vol 80 (2) ◽

pp. 237 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Laidlaw Williams ◽

Michael H. MacRoberts

Keyword(s):

Nova Scotia ◽

Song Variation

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Dominance and geographic information contained within black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) song

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/1568539x-00003111 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 150 (13) ◽

pp. 1601-1622 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Allison H. Hahn ◽

Lauren M. Guillette ◽

Marisa Hoeschele ◽

Daniel J. Mennill ◽

Ken A. Otter ◽

...

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Discriminant Function ◽

Dominance Rank ◽

Geographic Location ◽

Relative Amplitude ◽

Complex Signal ◽

Acoustic Features ◽

Song Variation ◽

Eastern Ontario ◽

Discriminant Function Analyses

In songbirds, male song is an acoustic signal used to attract mates and defend territories. Typically, song is an acoustically complex signal; however, the fee-bee song of the black-capped chickadee is relatively simple. Despite this relative simplicity, two previous studies (Christie et al., 2004b; Hoeschele et al., 2010) found acoustic features within the fee-bee song that contain information regarding an individual’s dominance rank; however each of these studies reported a different dominance-related acoustic cue. Specifically, the relative amplitude of the two notes differed between the songs of dominant and subordinate males from northern British Columbia, while the interval pitch ratio differed between the songs of dominant and subordinate males from eastern Ontario. In the current study, we examined six acoustic features within songs from both of the chickadee populations (northern British Columbia and eastern Ontario) examined in these previous studies and used bioacoustic analyses and discriminant function analyses to determine whether there is a consistent dominance-related acoustic cue across both, or in each of these populations. Consistent with the previous findings, the current results indicate that relative amplitude differs based on dominance status in the songs from British Columbia; however, our results failed to reach significance with songs from Ontario. These results suggest that acoustic cues that signal a male’s dominance in this species vary with geographic location. Furthermore, examining songs from these two locations and one additional location in northern British Columbia, we found that discriminant function analyses could correctly classify songs based on geographic location. Considering the broad extent of the species’ range, black-capped chickadee song is considered relatively invariant; however, our results suggest that there is geographic variation in songs, although the differences are subtle compared to geographic song variation in other species.

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