| Birds and anthropogenic noise: are urban songs adaptive? | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 20712517 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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In cities with intense low-frequency traffic noise, birds have been observed to sing louder and at a higher pitch. Several studies argue that higher song pitch is an adaptation to reduce masking from noise, and it has even been suggested that the song divergence between urban and nonurban songs might lead to reproductive isolation. Here we present models of signal transmission to compare the benefits of raised song amplitude and song pitch in terms of sound transmission. We chose two bird species that sing with higher pitch in urban areas, the great tit (Parus major) and the blackbird (Turdus merula). For both species, we calculated communication distances in response to different levels of urban noise and in their natural forest habitats. We found that an increase in vocal pitch increased communication distance only marginally. In contrast, vocal amplitude adjustments had a strong and significantly larger effect. Our results indicate that frequency changes of urban songs are not very effective in mitigating masking from traffic noise. Increased song pitch might not be an adaptation to reduce signal masking but a physiological side effect of singing at high amplitudes or an epiphenomenon of urbanization that is not related to signal transmission. |
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Authors:
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Erwin Nemeth; Henrik Brumm |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't |
Journal Detail:
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Title: The American naturalist Volume: 176 ISSN: 1537-5323 ISO Abbreviation: Am. Nat. Publication Date: 2010 Oct |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2010-09-03 Completed Date: 2011-01-13 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 2984688R Medline TA: Am Nat Country: United States |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 465-75 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany. enemeth@orn.mpg.de |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Acclimatization Acoustic Stimulation Animals Ecosystem Female Male Noise* Songbirds / physiology* Sound Spectrography Trees Vocalization, Animal* |
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