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Sobroza TV, Gordo M, Dunn JC, Pequeno PACL, Naissinger BM, Barnett APA. Pied tamarins change their vocal behavior in response to noise levels in the largest city in the Amazon. Am J Primatol 2024; 86:e23606. [PMID: 38340360 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2023] [Revised: 01/14/2024] [Accepted: 01/27/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
Many animal species depend on sound to communicate with conspecifics. However, human-generated (anthropogenic) noise may mask acoustic signals and so disrupt behavior. Animals may use various strategies to circumvent this, including shifts in the timing of vocal activity and changes to the acoustic parameters of their calls. We tested whether pied tamarins (Saguinus bicolor) adjust their vocal behavior in response to city noise. We predicted that both the probability of occurrence and the number of long calls would increase in response to anthropogenic noise and that pied tamarins would temporally shift their vocal activity to avoid noisier periods. At a finer scale, we anticipated that the temporal parameters of tamarin calls (e.g., call duration and syllable repetition rate) would increase with noise amplitude. We collected information on the acoustic environment and the emission of long calls in nine wild pied tamarin groups in Manaus, Brazil. We found that the probability of long-call occurrence increased with higher levels of anthropogenic noise, though the number of long calls did not. The number of long calls was related to the time of day and the distance from home range borders-a proxy for the distance to neighboring groups. Neither long-call occurrence nor call rate was related to noise levels at different times of day. We found that pied tamarins decreased their syllable repetition rate in response to anthropogenic noise. Long calls are important for group cohesion and intergroup communication. Thus, it is possible that the tamarins emit one long call with lower syllable repetition, which might facilitate signal reception. The occurrence and quantity of pied tamarin' long calls, as well as their acoustic proprieties, seem to be governed by anthropogenic noise, time of the day, and social mechanisms such as proximity to neighboring groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tainara Venturini Sobroza
- Projeto Sauim-de-Coleira, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
- Centro de Estudos Integrados da Biodiversidade Amazônica- CENBAM/PPBio de Pesquisa de Mamíferos Amazônicos, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
- Grupo de Pesquisa de Mamíferos Amazônicos, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Conservação e Uso de Recursos Naturais, Universidade Federal de Rondônia, Boa Vista, Rondônia, Brazil
| | - Marcelo Gordo
- Projeto Sauim-de-Coleira, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
| | - Jacob C Dunn
- Department of Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | | | - Adrian Paul Ashton Barnett
- Grupo de Pesquisa de Mamíferos Amazônicos, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
- Departamento de Zoologia, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual do Maranhão, São Luis, Maranhão, Brazil
- Department of Natural Sciences, Middlesex University, London, UK
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2
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de Framond L, Reininger V, Goerlitz HR. Temperate bats may alter calls to partially compensate for weather-induced changes in detection distance. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2023; 153:2867. [PMID: 37171984 DOI: 10.1121/10.0019359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Echolocation is the use of self-emitted calls to probe the surrounding environment. The atmosphere strongly absorbs sound energy, particularly high frequencies, thereby limiting the sensory range of echolocating animals. Atmospheric attenuation varies with temperature and humidity, which both vary widely in the temperate zone. Since echolocating insectivorous bats rely on ultrasound to capture insects, their foraging success might decrease with seasonal and daily variations in weather. To counteract weather-induced variations in prey detection, we hypothesised that European bats decrease call frequency and increase call energy when atmospheric attenuation increases, thereby maintaining their prey detection distance. Using acoustic localisation and automated call analysis, we measured call frequency and energy in free-flying bats of three common European insectivorous species. One species, Pipistrellus nathusii/kuhlii, increased call frequency, but simultaneously decreased call energy, while the two other species (P. pipistrellus and Myotis daubentonii) did not alter call parameters. We estimated the detection distance for prey based on the recorded call parameters and prey characteristics, using a custom-developed theoretical model. None of the three species maintained prey detection distance (it decreased by 1.7 to 3.4 m) when atmospheric attenuation increased. This study contributes to a better understanding of the sensory challenges faced by animals in fluctuating environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Léna de Framond
- Acoustic and Functional Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Verena Reininger
- Acoustic and Functional Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Holger R Goerlitz
- Acoustic and Functional Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
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3
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Snell CL, Reudink MW, Otter KA. Hard of hearing: the effect of distance and experimental noise on mountain chickadee song transmission. BIOACOUSTICS 2023. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2023.2172080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/11/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- C. L. Snell
- Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, Canada
| | - M. W. Reudink
- Department of Biological Sciences, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC, Canada
| | - K. A. Otter
- Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, Canada
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4
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Önsal Ç, Yelimlieş A, Akçay Ç. Aggression and multi-modal signaling in noise in a common urban songbird. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03207-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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5
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Schou CPE, Levengood AL, Potvin DA. Limited effects of traffic noise on behavioural responses to conspecific mating calls in the eastern sedge frog Litoria fallax. Acta Ethol 2021; 24:217-226. [PMID: 34366558 PMCID: PMC8335461 DOI: 10.1007/s10211-021-00378-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Revised: 07/25/2021] [Accepted: 07/29/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic noise is a pervasive environmental feature across both urban and non-urban habitats and presents a novel challenge especially for acoustically communicating species. While it is known that some species adjust acoustic signals to communicate more effectively in noisy habitats, we know very little about how the receivers of these signals might be impacted by anthropogenic noise. Here, we investigated female and male Litoria fallax frogs’ ability to distinguish between high- and low-quality acoustic signals during the presence of background traffic noise and without. We performed a controlled behavioural experiment whereby frogs were presented with simultaneously broadcasted attractive and unattractive calls from opposing directions, once with background traffic noise and once without. We found that females in particular chose the unattractive call significantly more often (and males significantly less often) when noise was being broadcast. This indicates that anthropogenic noise potentially affects receiver responses to acoustic signals, even when calls are not acoustically masked, with potential consequences for maladaptive mating behaviours and population outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charmaine P E Schou
- Global Change Ecology Research Group, School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, QLD Australia
| | - Alexis L Levengood
- Global Change Ecology Research Group, School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, QLD Australia
| | - Dominique A Potvin
- Global Change Ecology Research Group, School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, QLD Australia
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6
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Zhan X, Liang D, Lin X, Li L, Wei C, Dingle C, Liu Y. Background noise but not urbanization level impacted song frequencies in an urban songbird in the Pearl River Delta, Southern China. Glob Ecol Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
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Braga Goncalves I, Richmond E, Harding HR, Radford AN. Impacts of additional noise on the social interactions of a cooperatively breeding fish. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:210982. [PMID: 34350024 PMCID: PMC8316797 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic noise is a global pollutant known to affect the behaviour of individual animals in all taxa studied. However, there has been relatively little experimental testing of the effects of additional noise on social interactions between conspecifics, despite these forming a crucial aspect of daily life for most species. Here, we use established paradigms to investigate how white-noise playback affects both group defensive actions against an intruder and associated within-group behaviours in a model fish species, the cooperatively breeding cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher. Additional noise did not alter defensive behaviour, but did result in changes to within-group behaviour. Both dominant and subordinate females, but not the dominant male, exhibited less affiliation and showed a tendency to produce more submissive displays to groupmates when there was additional noise compared with control conditions. Thus, our experimental results indicate the potential for anthropogenic noise to affect social interactions between conspecifics and emphasize the possibility of intraspecific variation in the impacts of this global pollutant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ines Braga Goncalves
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Emily Richmond
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Harry R. Harding
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Andrew N. Radford
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
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8
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Bent AM, Ings TC, Mowles SL. Does anthropogenic noise affect the acoustic courtship interactions of Gryllus bimaculatus? Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.01.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Grabarczyk EE, Vonhof MJ, Gill SA. Social context and noise affect within and between male song adjustments in a common passerine. Behav Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Across populations, animals that inhabit areas with high anthropogenic noise produce vocalizations that differ from those inhabiting less noisy environments. Such patterns may be due to individuals rapidly adjusting their songs in response to changing noise, but individual variation is seldom explored. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that male house wrens (Troglodytes aedon) immediately adjust their songs according to changing noise and that social context further modifies responses. We recorded songs, quantified noise, and defined social context within pairs as female fertile status and between males as number of conspecific neighbors. We used a reaction-norm approach to compare song trait intercepts (between-male effects) and slopes (within-male effects) as a function of noise. Individuals immediately adjusted song duration in response to changing noise. How they achieved adjustments varied: some sang shorter and others longer songs with greater noise, and individuals varied in the extent to which they adjusted song duration. Variation in song duration could be affected by competition as between-male noise levels interacted with number of neighbors to affect syllable duration. Neither within- nor between-male noise effects were detected for frequency traits. Rather, males with fertile mates sang lower-frequency songs and increased peak frequency with more neighbors. Among males, social context but not noise affected song frequency, whereas temporal structure varied between and within individuals depending on noise and social factors. Not all males adjusted signals the same way in response to noise, and selection could favor different levels of variation according to noise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin E Grabarczyk
- Department of Biological Sciences, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA
| | - Maarten J Vonhof
- Department of Biological Sciences, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA
- Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA
| | - Sharon A Gill
- Department of Biological Sciences, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA
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10
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Baldan D, Ouyang JQ. Urban resources limit pair coordination over offspring provisioning. Sci Rep 2020; 10:15888. [PMID: 32985594 PMCID: PMC7522258 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-72951-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2020] [Accepted: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The amount of care parents provide to the offspring is complicated by an evolutionary conflict of interest (‘sexual conflict’) between the two parents. Recent theoretical models suggest that pair coordination of the provisioning may reduce this conflict and increase parent and offspring fitness. Despite empirical studies showing that pair coordination is common in avian species, it remains unclear how environmental and ecological conditions might promote or limit the ability of parents to coordinate care. We compared the level of pair coordination, measured as alternation and synchrony of the nest visits, of house wrens Troglodytes aedon pairs breeding in a rural (10 nests) and a suburban (9 nests) site and investigated how differences in parental behaviours were related to habitat composition, prey abundance and how they ultimately related to reproductive success. We found that parents alternated and synchronized their nest visits more in the rural site compared to the suburban one. The suburban site is characterized by a more fragmented habitat with more coniferous trees and less caterpillar availability. Offspring from the rural site were heavier at fledging than at the suburban site. Taken together, these results suggest that environmental conditions play an important role on the emergence of coordinated parental care and that considering environmental variables is pivotal to assess the fitness consequences of parental strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Baldan
- Department of Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N Virginia St., Reno, NV, 89557, USA.
| | - Jenny Q Ouyang
- Department of Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N Virginia St., Reno, NV, 89557, USA
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11
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Passos MFDO, Beirão MV, Midamegbe A, Duarte RHL, Young RJ, de Azevedo CS. Impacts of noise pollution on the agonistic interactions of the saffron finch (Sicalis flaveola Linnaeus, 1766). Behav Processes 2020; 180:104222. [PMID: 32828808 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2020] [Revised: 08/12/2020] [Accepted: 08/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Impacts of noise pollution are recognized as a source of stress for animals and as a form of environmental degradation. Behavioural changes associated with noise, such as reduction of reproductive success, reduction in feeding behaviour, increase in vigilance behaviours and inability to detect environment acoustic signals, are observed. The aim of the present study was to evaluate how noise influences aggressive behaviour of the saffron finch (Sicalis flaveola). We conducted tests of territoriality-aggressiveness against conspecifics. Seven individuals were tested, with six tests per individual being conducted in two treatments (traffic pollution and ambient noise), totalling 84 tests. The noise treatment significantly altered the agonistic interactions of the saffron finches, with territorial males exhibiting less aggressive behaviours towards intruders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcela Fortes de Oliveira Passos
- Departamento de Evolução, Biodiversidade e Meio Ambiente, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Campus Morro do Cruzeiro, s/n, Bauxita, Cep: 35400-000, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brasil.
| | - Marina Vale Beirão
- Departamento de Evolução, Biodiversidade e Meio Ambiente, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Campus Morro do Cruzeiro, s/n, Bauxita, Cep: 35400-000, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brasil.
| | - Afiwa Midamegbe
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais. Avenida Dom José Gaspar, 500, Coração Eucarístico. Cep: 30535-901, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
| | - Renan Henriques Lage Duarte
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais. Avenida Dom José Gaspar, 500, Coração Eucarístico. Cep: 30535-901, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
| | - Robert John Young
- University of Salford Manchester, Peel Building - Room G51, Salford, M5 4WT, United Kingdom.
| | - Cristiano Schetini de Azevedo
- Departamento de Evolução, Biodiversidade e Meio Ambiente, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Campus Morro do Cruzeiro, s/n, Bauxita, Cep: 35400-000, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brasil.
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12
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Grabarczyk EE, Araya‐Salas M, Vonhof MJ, Gill SA. Anthropogenic noise affects female, not male house wren response to change in signaling network. Ethology 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Erin E. Grabarczyk
- Department of Biological Sciences Western Michigan University Kalamazoo MI USA
| | | | - Maarten J. Vonhof
- Department of Biological Sciences Western Michigan University Kalamazoo MI USA
- Institute of the Environment and Sustainability Western Michigan University Kalamazoo MI USA
| | - Sharon A. Gill
- Department of Biological Sciences Western Michigan University Kalamazoo MI USA
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13
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Akçay Ç, Porsuk YK, Avşar A, Çabuk D, Bilgin CC. Song overlapping, noise, and territorial aggression in great tits. Behav Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Communication often happens in noisy environments where interference from the ambient noise and other signalers may reduce the effectiveness of signals which may lead to more conflict between interacting individuals. Signalers may also evolve behaviors to interfere with signals of opponents, for example, by temporally overlapping them with their own, such as the song overlapping behavior that is seen in some songbirds during aggressive interactions. Song overlapping has been proposed to be a signal of aggressive intent, but few studies directly examined the association between song overlapping and aggressive behaviors of the sender. In the present paper, we examined whether song overlapping and ambient noise are associated positively with aggressive behaviors. We carried out simulated territorial intrusions in a population of great tits (Parus major) living in an urban–rural gradient to assess signaling and aggressive behaviors. Song overlapping was associated negatively with aggressive behaviors males displayed against a simulated intruder. This result is inconsistent with the hypothesis that song overlapping is an aggressive signal in this species. Ambient noise levels were associated positively with aggressive behaviors but did not correlate with song rate, song duration, or song overlapping. Great tits in noisy urban habitats may display higher levels of aggressive behaviors due to either interference of noise in aggressive communication or another indirect effect of noise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Çağlar Akçay
- Department of Psychology, Koç University, Rumelifeneri Caddesi, Sarıyer, Istanbul, Turkey
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Y Kağan Porsuk
- Department of Psychology, Koç University, Rumelifeneri Caddesi, Sarıyer, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Alican Avşar
- Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, Üniversiteler, Dumlupınar Blv. No:1, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Dilan Çabuk
- Department of Psychology, Koç University, Rumelifeneri Caddesi, Sarıyer, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - C Can Bilgin
- Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, Üniversiteler, Dumlupınar Blv. No:1, Ankara, Turkey
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Potvin DA, Anderson MK, Levengood AL. Effects of ecotourism on eastern yellow robin (Eopsaltria australis) vocal behaviour. AUST J ZOOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1071/zo20102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Ecotourism attempts to provide sustainable tourism with a focus on experiencing natural areas to foster environmental appreciation. However, it is often seen as a paradox, since associated infrastructure and activity can have detrimental effects on wildlife. One aspect that has been overlooked in this context is the potential impact of ecotourists on vocal behaviour, especially of birds. Many birds are susceptible to anthropogenic noise, avoiding noisy areas, or changing vocal activity within them. We used passive recording techniques to quantify vocal behaviours of a native Australian songbird, the eastern yellow robin, at an ecotourist resort to investigate how tourist presence might affect vocal behaviours. We found that during peak tourism seasonal periods, robins sang fewer songs, and these songs were shorter. However, this same pattern was observed on weekdays compared with weekends, when tourist numbers are generally lower. This seemingly contradictory pattern may be explained by the fact that maintenance of the resort grounds occurred predominantly on weekdays, with noise levels comparable to those detected during periods of high tourism. Thus, ecotourism infrastructure can have layered effects on bird vocal activity: tourist numbers as well as maintenance practices should be considered within the context of local wildlife conservation.
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