1 / 21

Noise effects on communication in song birds

Noise effects on communication in song birds. Marc Naguib Behavioural Ecology Group Wageningen University The Netherlands marc.naguib@wur.nl. Effects of noise depend on Signal structure Signal function Spatial characteristics Noise characteristics Individual traits.

matt
Download Presentation

Noise effects on communication in song birds

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Noise effects on communication in song birds Marc Naguib Behavioural Ecology Group Wageningen University The Netherlands marc.naguib@wur.nl

  2. Effects of noise depend on • Signal structure • Signal function • Spatial characteristics • Noise characteristics • Individual traits

  3. Environmental noise Environmental constraints on communication Sound transmission characteristics

  4. The main adaptations of birdsong to long range communication Birds in denser habitats use lower frequencies than birds in open habitats Birds in dense habitats use slower trills than birds in open habitats. (Morton 1975, Sorjonen 1986, Wiley 1991)

  5. Song elementrepetitionrates Open habitats Grasshopper warbler 10 ms Yellow hammer 10 ms Woods Chaffinch 90 ms Wren 70 ms Wren Grasshopper warbler Yellow hammer Chaffinch (also see Wiley 1991, Naguib 2003)

  6. Sound degradation as distance cues Carolina wren Distance cues • Reverberation • High frequency content • Relative amplitude Naguib 1995, 1996, 1997

  7. Narrow bandwidth Broad bandwidth lower frequency lower frequency Amplitude Amplitude higher frequency higher frequency 1 1 2 2 distance distance 1: JND for excess attenuation 2: JND for distance difference (after Naguib and Wiley, Anim Behav 2001) Signal structureandcommunicationdistance (after Brumm and Naguib, Adv. Study Behav 2009)

  8. Noise constrains detection of: • information coded in signal • distance related changes Effects on time budgets and spacing

  9. Urban birds change their tune City birds sing at higher frequencies than rural birds Slabbekoorn and Peet, Nature 2003 Nightingales sing louder with increasing noise levels Brumm and Todt 2002

  10. Indirect effects of noise on communication From Naguib 2013

  11. Indirect effects of noise on communication • Gene regulation • Heart rate • Immune response • Blood pressure • Fearfulness • Attention • Learning • Habitat choice • Spatial behaviour

  12. Do negative effects of noise result from masking or from disturbance?

  13. 1. Disturb and mask 2. Disturb only frequency time Do negative effects of noise result from masking or from disturbance? 3. Control: empty box with no playback

  14. Noise characteristics or animal characteristics (personality) (a) (b) (c) Field population of great tits (Parus major) Personality test (novel environment) Noise playbacks during parental care period

  15. 2h playback of 60 randomly timed 1 min noise bouts Noise Silence

  16. Begging activity (min with calls) Control Disturb only Disturb and mask Before During After Playback period (Naguib et al 2013, AnimBehav)

  17. Control Chicks beg more when parents visit Disturb only Begging activity (minutes with begging calls) Chicks beg less during noise Mask-and-disturb Kind of noise does not matter except when parents are absent absent present (Naguib et al 2013, AnimBehav) Parent

  18. Latency to first visit in noise Disturb only Disturb and mask Exploration score (Naguib et al 2013, AnimBehav) Parent

  19. Sexes respond in opposite ways to noise, depending on personality Males Relative number of visits in noise Females Exploration score slow fast (Naguib et al 2013, AnimBehav) 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 20 40 60 0

  20. Conclusion • Signals evolved to reduce degradation • Signal degradation as distance cues • Noise can affect communication also indirectly, without masking a signal • Response to noise can be personality-dependent Thanks to: Joe Waas, Waikato University, New Zealand Kees van Oers, Netherlands Institute of Ecology The Royal Dutch Academy for Arts and Sciences

  21. Do negative effects of noise result from masking or from disturbance? Male vocalizations Disturb only Disturb and mask Songs in noise Calls in noise Song switches in noise

More Related