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Brosseau JE, Eddington VM, Craig EC, White ER, Kloepper LN. The effect of localized disturbance on the acoustic behavior of the common tern (Sterna hirundo). JASA EXPRESS LETTERS 2024; 4:091201. [PMID: 39254444 DOI: 10.1121/10.0028204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2024] [Accepted: 07/26/2024] [Indexed: 09/11/2024]
Abstract
In this study, passive acoustic monitoring was used to assess the impact of investigator disturbance on the acoustic behavior of a colony of common terns. A graded antipredator response in the colony was hypothesized, which would result in an increase in acoustic energy with increased proximity to investigator disturbance. Human disturbance was found to result in a significant increase in acoustic energy within 20 meters of recorders, though not from farther distances. Our findings provide a framework for assessing the behavioral impact of disturbance on colonies and support the existence of a graded alarm call system in common terns.
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Affiliation(s)
- J E Brosseau
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire 03824, USA
| | - V M Eddington
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire 03824, USA
- Center for Acoustics Research and Education, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire 03824, USA
| | - E C Craig
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire 03824, USA
- Shoals Marine Laboratory, joint program of Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14850 and University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire 03824, , , , ,
| | - E R White
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire 03824, USA
| | - L N Kloepper
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire 03824, USA
- Center for Acoustics Research and Education, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire 03824, USA
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2
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Eavesdropping on conspecific alarm calls links birds across territory borders into a population-wide information network. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.07.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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3
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McDonald PG, Doohan SJ, Eveleigh KJ. Using referential alarm signals to remotely quantify ‘landscapes of fear’ in fragmented woodland. BIOACOUSTICS 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2021.2013319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Paul G. McDonald
- Animal Behaviour and Ecology Lab, Zoology, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, Australia
| | - Samantha J. Doohan
- Animal Behaviour and Ecology Lab, Zoology, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, Australia
| | - Kyia J. Eveleigh
- Animal Behaviour and Ecology Lab, Zoology, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, Australia
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Fernández GJ, Carro ME. Alarm calls of southern house wrens,
Troglodytes aedon bonariae
, convey information about the level of risk. Ethology 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Gustavo J. Fernández
- Grupo de Investigación en Ecofisiología de Fauna Silvestre INIBIOMA‐CONICETAsentamiento Universitario San Martín de los Andes (AUSMA)Universidad Nacional del Comahue San Martín de los Andes Argentina
| | - Mariana E. Carro
- Grupo de Investigación en Ecofisiología de Fauna Silvestre INIBIOMA‐CONICETAsentamiento Universitario San Martín de los Andes (AUSMA)Universidad Nacional del Comahue San Martín de los Andes Argentina
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5
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Ratnayake CP, Zhou Y, Dawson Pell FSE, Potvin DA, Radford AN, Magrath RD. Visual obstruction, but not moderate traffic noise, increases reliance on heterospecific alarm calls. Behav Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Animals rely on both personal and social information about danger to minimize risk, yet environmental conditions constrain information. Both visual obstructions and background noise can reduce detectability of predators, which may increase reliance on social information, such as from alarm calls. Furthermore, a combination of visual and auditory constraints might greatly increase reliance on social information, because the loss of information from one source cannot be compensated by the other. Testing these possibilities requires manipulating personal information while broadcasting alarm calls. We therefore experimentally tested the effects of a visual barrier, traffic noise, and their combination on the response of Australian magpies, Cracticus tibicen, to heterospecific alarm calls. The barrier blocked only visual cues, while playback of moderate traffic noise could mask subtle acoustic cues of danger, such as of a predator’s movement, but not the alarm-call playback. We predicted that response to alarm calls would increase with either visual or acoustic constraint, and that there would be a disproportionate response when both were present. As predicted, individuals responded more strongly to alarm calls when there was a visual barrier. However, moderate traffic noise did not affect responses, and the effect of the visual barrier was not greater during traffic-noise playback. We conclude that a reduction of personal, visual information led to a greater reliance on social information from alarm calls, confirming indirect evidence from other species. The absence of a traffic-noise effect could be because in Australian magpies hearing subtle cues is less important than vision in detecting predators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaminda P Ratnayake
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, 46 Sullivan’s Creek Road, Australian National University, Canberra 2600, Australia
| | - You Zhou
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, 46 Sullivan’s Creek Road, Australian National University, Canberra 2600, Australia
| | - Francesca S E Dawson Pell
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, 46 Sullivan’s Creek Road, Australian National University, Canberra 2600, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Dominique A Potvin
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, 46 Sullivan’s Creek Road, Australian National University, Canberra 2600, Australia
| | - Andrew N Radford
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Robert D Magrath
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, 46 Sullivan’s Creek Road, Australian National University, Canberra 2600, Australia
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6
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Carro ME, Fernández GJ. Alarm calls of house wrens (Troglodytes aedon bonariae) elicit responses of conspecific and heterospecific species. BEHAVIOUR 2021. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-bja10097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Nesting house wrens (Troglodytes aedon bonariae) use two basic alarm calls (Type I and Type II) when detect a threat near the nest. We experimentally analysed if calls distract predators or serve to recruit other birds to create a mobbing flock to deter predators. The results show that individuals preferentially position themselves in front of the threat, disclosing the location of the nest. Also, using playbacks of house wren alarm calls we found that these calls recruited both conspecific and heterospecific individuals to create a mobbing response. The alarm calls of house wrens seem to fulfil multiple functions, not only conveying information about the threat to their mates and nestling as revealed in previous studies, but also as a signal that attracts the attention of other conspecific and heterospecific individuals and can trigger a mobbing response to deter the predator.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana E. Carro
- Grupo de Investigación en Ecofisiología de Fauna Silvestre, INIBIOMA-CONICET, Asentamiento Universitario San Martín de los Andes (AUSMA). Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Pasaje de la Paz 235, 8370 San Martín de los Andes, Neuquén, Argentina
| | - Gustavo J. Fernández
- Grupo de Investigación en Ecofisiología de Fauna Silvestre, INIBIOMA-CONICET, Asentamiento Universitario San Martín de los Andes (AUSMA). Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Pasaje de la Paz 235, 8370 San Martín de los Andes, Neuquén, Argentina
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7
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Farrow LF, Barati A, McDonald PG. Cooperative bird discriminates between individuals based purely on their aerial alarm calls. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractFrom an evolutionary perspective, the ability to recognize individuals provides great selective advantages, such as avoiding inbreeding depression during breeding. Whilst the capacity to recognize individuals for these types of benefits is well established in social contexts, why this recognition might arise in a potentially deadly alarm-calling context following predator encounters is less obvious. For example, in most avian systems, alarm signals directed toward aerial predators represent higher predation risk and vulnerability than when individuals vocalize toward a terrestrial-based predator. Although selection should favor simple, more effective alarm calls to these dangerous aerial predators, the potential of these signals to nonetheless encode additional information such as caller identity has not received a great deal of attention. We tested for individual discrimination capacity in the aerial alarm vocalizations of the noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala), a highly social honeyeater that has been previously shown to be able to discriminate between the terrestrial alarm signals of individuals. Utilizing habituation–discrimination paradigm testing, we found conclusive evidence of individual discrimination in the aerial alarm calls of noisy miners, which was surprisingly of similar efficiency to their ability to discriminate between less urgent terrestrial alarm signals. Although the mechanism(s) driving this behavior is currently unclear, it most likely occurs as a result of selection favoring individualism among other social calls in the repertoire of this cooperative species. This raises the intriguing possibility that individualistic signatures in vocalizations of social animals might be more widespread than currently appreciated, opening new areas of bioacoustics research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucy F Farrow
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology Research Centre, Department of Zoology, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Ahmad Barati
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology Research Centre, Department of Zoology, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Paul G McDonald
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology Research Centre, Department of Zoology, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
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Hare JF, Sarà M, Hare AJ, Campobello D. Asymmetrical interspecific communication of predatory threat in mixed‐species colonies of lesser kestrels (
Falco naumanni
) and jackdaws (
Corvus monedula
). Ethology 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- James F. Hare
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Manitoba Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
| | - Maurizio Sarà
- Section of Animal Biology, Department STEBICEF University of Palermo Palermo Italy
| | - Alexander J. Hare
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Manitoba Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
- Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph Guelph Ontario Canada
| | - Daniela Campobello
- Section of Animal Biology, Department STEBICEF University of Palermo Palermo Italy
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9
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Teixeira D, Maron M, Rensburg BJ. Bioacoustic monitoring of animal vocal behavior for conservation. CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.72] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Daniella Teixeira
- School of Biological SciencesThe University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland Australia
| | - Martine Maron
- School of Earth and Environmental SciencesThe University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland Australia
| | - Berndt J. Rensburg
- School of Biological SciencesThe University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland Australia
- Department of Zoology, DST‐NRF Centre for Invasion BiologyUniversity of Johannesburg Johannesburg South Africa
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10
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Lowry H, Lill A, Wong BBM. Do the Calls of a Bird, the Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala), Need Adjustment for Efficient Communication in Urban Anthropogenic Noise? Animals (Basel) 2019; 9:ani9030118. [PMID: 30917544 PMCID: PMC6466032 DOI: 10.3390/ani9030118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2019] [Revised: 03/16/2019] [Accepted: 03/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary A common feature of urban environments is constant, low frequency, anthropogenic noise. To communicate effectively acoustically in this environment requires avoidance of sound masking by this background noise. Research suggests that some animals can adjust their vocalizations so that they lie outside the main frequency range of urban anthropogenic noise, whilst others may produce sound signals that naturally avoid masking and therefore do not require adjustment. To date, research in this area has tended to focus on adjustment to complex songs, rather than simpler calls. The Noisy miner, Manorina melanocephala, is a very successful avian urban colonizer that uses calls in its acoustic communication. We compared the calls of this species in both urban and rural populations. Of all calls compared, only those that lay within the main frequency range of anthropogenic noise (1–2 kHz) showed shifts in minimum sound frequency in urban individuals, but these frequency shifts were notably small and insufficient to entirely preclude masking by urban noise. However, several Noisy miner calls had frequencies of more than 2 kHz that lay outside the main frequency range of urban anthropogenic noise (>2 kHz), suggesting intriguingly that this species may be inherently well-suited to communicating vocally in urban settings, which may be one of the keys to its success as an urban colonizer. Abstract Urban environments are characteristically noisy and this can pose a challenge for animals that communicate acoustically. Although evidence suggests that some birds can make acoustic adjustments that preclude masking of their signals in high-disturbance environments such as cities, studies to date have tended to focus on acoustic signals important in mate attraction (e.g., songs). Far less attention has been given to the impact of urban noise on other kinds of calls. To redress this, we compared a range of different vocalizations (encompassing alarm calls, begging calls and parent response calls) among urban and rural individuals of a successful Australian ‘urban adapter’, the Noisy miner, Manorina melanocephala. We found that urban miners had significantly higher minimum sound frequencies for calls with low base-frequencies (<2 kHz); however, calls with base-frequencies ‘naturally’ above the main frequency range of urban noise (>2 kHz) had the same minimum frequency in urban and rural birds. Dominant frequency and call duration did not differ between urban and rural individuals. Although urban Noisy miners exhibited differences from rural individuals in the minimum frequency of calls, this shift was not large enough to avoid masking from low-frequency, anthropogenic noise. Nevertheless, our findings suggest that the calls of Noisy miners may be naturally well suited to being heard in noisy urban environments by having (a) dominant frequencies higher than low-level, anthropogenic noise and (b) several important call-types with frequencies above the main frequency range associated with urban noise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hélène Lowry
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton Campus, Victoria 3800, Australia.
| | - Alan Lill
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria 3083, Australia.
| | - Bob B M Wong
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton Campus, Victoria 3800, Australia.
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11
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Eavesdropping magpies respond to the number of heterospecifics giving alarm calls but not the number of species calling. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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12
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Barati A, Andrew RL, Gorrell JC, Etezadifar F, McDonald PG. Genetic relatedness and sex predict helper provisioning effort in the cooperatively breeding noisy miner. Behav Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Ahmad Barati
- Avian Behavioural Ecology Laboratory, Zoology, University of New England, Elm Av., Armidale, NSW, Australia
- Department of Environment, Malayer University, Arak road, Malayer, Iran
| | - Rose L Andrew
- School of Environmental and Rural Science, The University of New England, Elm Av., Armidale, NSW, Australia
| | | | - Farzaneh Etezadifar
- Avian Behavioural Ecology Laboratory, Zoology, University of New England, Elm Av., Armidale, NSW, Australia
| | - Paul G McDonald
- Avian Behavioural Ecology Laboratory, Zoology, University of New England, Elm Av., Armidale, NSW, Australia
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13
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Dawson Pell FS, Potvin DA, Ratnayake CP, Fernández-Juricic E, Magrath RD, Radford AN. Birds orient their heads appropriately in response to functionally referential alarm calls of heterospecifics. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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14
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Davitt G, Maute K, Major RE, McDonald PG, Maron M. Short-term response of a declining woodland bird assemblage to the removal of a despotic competitor. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:4771-4780. [PMID: 29876056 PMCID: PMC5980597 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2017] [Revised: 02/10/2018] [Accepted: 02/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Interspecific aggression by the noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala), a highly despotic species, is homogenizing woodland avifaunas across eastern Australia. Although a native species, the noisy miner's aggressive exclusion of small birds is a Key Threatening Process under national law. Large-scale removal of noisy miners has been proposed as a management response to this threat following increases in miner presence due to anthropogenic land use practices. We tested this proposal by experimentally removing noisy miners from eucalypt woodland remnants (16-49 ha), assigned randomly as control (n = 12) or treatment (miner removal) sites (n = 12). Standardized bird surveys were conducted before and after removal, and generalized linear mixed models were used to investigate the effect of miner removal on bird assemblage metrics. Despite removing 3552 noisy miners in three sessions of systematic shooting, densities of noisy miners remained similarly high in treatment and control sites, even just 14 days after their removal. However, there was evidence of an increase in richness and abundance of small birds in treatment sites compared to controls-an effect we only expected to see if noisy miner densities were drastically reduced. We suggest that miner removal may have reduced the ability of the recolonizing miners to aggressively exclude small birds, even without substantially reducing miner densities, due to the breakdown of social structures that are central to the species' despotic behaviour. However, this effect on small birds is unlikely to persist in the long term. Synthesis and applications: Despite evidence from other studies that direct removal of noisy miners can result in rapid and sustained conservation benefit for bird communities at small scales, our findings cast doubt on the potential to scale-up this management approach. The circumstances under which direct control of noisy miners can be achieved remain unresolved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Galen Davitt
- School of Earth and Environmental SciencesThe University of QueenslandBrisbaneQLDAustralia
| | - Kimberly Maute
- Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian MuseumSydneyNSWAustralia
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of WollongongWollongongNSWAustralia
| | - Richard E. Major
- Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian MuseumSydneyNSWAustralia
| | - Paul G. McDonald
- Centre for Behavioural and Physiological EcologyZoologyUniversity of New EnglandArmidaleNSWAustralia
| | - Martine Maron
- School of Earth and Environmental SciencesThe University of QueenslandBrisbaneQLDAustralia
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15
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Ha JM, Lee K, Yang EJ, Kim WJ, Song HK, Hwang IJ, Lee SI, Jablonski PG. Effect of nestlings’ age on parental responses to a predatory snake in Parus minor. BEHAVIOUR 2018. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Predator-specific alarm calls may have a variety of context-specific functions. Parents of the oriental tit, Parus minor, use the ‘jar’ call in response to the presence of a snake near the nests, and the nestlings respond by escaping the nest cavity. This specific function can be observed only when nestlings are able to fledge. Do tits use the ‘jar’ call only in a situation when nestlings are physically able to jump out of the nest? We measured parental responses to live snake in 8 nests. The use of ‘jar’ call by parents was not modified by the ability of their nestlings to escape out of the nest. This suggests that fledging in response to ‘jar’ call by old nestlings evolved later than the evolutionary emergence of referential snake alarm calls, and that the ancestral function of ‘jar’ call was probably not related to triggering of fledging in old nestlings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jung Moon Ha
- aSchool of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, 08826, 1 Gwanak-ro, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Keesan Lee
- aSchool of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, 08826, 1 Gwanak-ro, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Eun Jeong Yang
- aSchool of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, 08826, 1 Gwanak-ro, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Woo Joo Kim
- aSchool of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, 08826, 1 Gwanak-ro, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Ho Kyeong Song
- aSchool of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, 08826, 1 Gwanak-ro, Seoul, South Korea
| | - In Je Hwang
- aSchool of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, 08826, 1 Gwanak-ro, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Sang-im Lee
- aSchool of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, 08826, 1 Gwanak-ro, Seoul, South Korea
- bDaegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology, 42988, 333 Techno Jungang-daero, Daegu, South Korea
| | - Piotr G. Jablonski
- aSchool of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, 08826, 1 Gwanak-ro, Seoul, South Korea
- cMuseum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wilcza 64, 00-679, Warsaw, Poland
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Barati A, McDonald PG. Nestlings reduce their predation risk by attending to predator-information encoded within conspecific alarm calls. Sci Rep 2017; 7:11736. [PMID: 28916776 PMCID: PMC5601946 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-11528-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2017] [Accepted: 08/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Predation is one of the main threats to altricial nestlings, with predators often locating nests via eavesdropping on begging signals. Nestlings may be able to adjust their begging based on the current level of risk by monitoring both intra- and interspecific alarm calls near the nest. We show that noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala) nestlings can differentiate between terrestrial and aerial alarm calls of their own species, as they suppressed begging behaviour for longer in response to terrestrial rather than aerial alarm calls. This differential response is potentially due to greater danger that terrestrial calls encode. In contrast, nestlings ignored alarm calls of the sympatric grey butcherbird (Cracticus torquatus) and continued to beg but reduced begging intensity in response to the non-alarm calls of a sympatric eastern rosella (Platycercus eximius), suggesting nestlings were likely responding based upon similarity to a known signal as opposed to expressing a learnt behaviour. Results show that nestlings respond adaptively to two different intraspecific alarm signals but have not learnt to respond to the alarm calls of sympatric species. These suggest that nestlings are able to take advantage of the complex vocal repertoire that adults produce, although discernment is an issue when filtering out irrelevant stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmad Barati
- Avian Behavioural Ecology Laboratory, Zoology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.
- Department of Environment, Malayer University, Malayer, Iran.
| | - Paul G McDonald
- Avian Behavioural Ecology Laboratory, Zoology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
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