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1
Johnson, Gayle. "Vocalizations in the grey butcherbird Cracticus torquatus with emphasis on structure in male breeding song implications for the function and evolution of song from a study of a Southern Hemisphere species /." Connect to this title online, 2003. http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/public/adt-QGU20051103.111004/.
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Stark, Robert Douglas. "An analysis of Eastern Nearctic woodpecker drums /." The Ohio State University, 2002. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1486463321624065.
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Nordby, Jennifer Cully. "Song learning in the song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) : ecological and social factors /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/9090.
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Dodenhoff, Danielle. "An Analysis of acoustic Ccmmunication within the social system of Downy Woodpeckers (Picoides pubescens)." Columbus, Ohio : Ohio State University, 2002. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1032381559.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2002.Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xiii, 132 p. Includes abstract and vita. Advisor: Douglas Nelson, Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology. Includes bibliographical references (p. 126-132).
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Warren, Paige Shannon. "Vocal dialects in the bronzed cowbird : a model system for testing evolutionary hypotheses /." Full text (PDF) from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International, 2000. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/utexas/fullcit?p3004397.
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Fry, Christopher Lee. "A source-filter model of birdsong production /." Diss., Connect to a 24 p. preview or request complete full text in PDF format. Access restricted to UC campuses, 1998. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ucsd/fullcit?p9913150.
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Heckscher, Christopher M. "Use of the Veery (Catharus fuscescens) call repertoire in vocal communication." Access to citation, abstract and download form provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company; downloadable PDF file, 279 p, 2008. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1456624521&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=8331&RQT=309&VName=PQD.
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Weary, Daniel Martin. "Inter- and intra-specific recognition by song in the veery (Catharus fuscescens)." Thesis, McGill University, 1985. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=64479.
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Dodenhoff, Danielle. "An analysis of acoustic communication within the social system of Downy Woodpeckers (Picoides pubescens) /." The Ohio State University, 2002. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1486463803601787.
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Van, Dongen Wouter Frederik Dirk. "Evolutionary ecology of multiple ornaments in the golden whistler /." Connect to thesis, 2005. http://repository.unimelb.edu.au/10187/2243.
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Goldwasser, Sharon. "VOCAL APPROPRIATION IN THE LESSER GOLDFINCH (ARIZONA)." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 1987. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/291759.
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Ranjard, Louis. "Computational biology of bird song evolution." e-Thesis University of Auckland, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/2292/5719.
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Individuals of a given population share more behavioural traits with each other than with members of other populations. For example, in humans, traditions are specific to regions or countries. These cultural relationships can tell us about the history of the populations, their origin and the amount of exchange between them. In birds, regional dialects have been described in many species. However, the mechanisms with which dialects form in populations is not fully understood because it is difficult to analyse experimentally. Translocated populations, with their known histories, offer an opportunity to study these mechanisms. From the study of bird vocalisations we can make inferences regarding population structure and relationships as well as their history, individual behavioural state, neuronal and physiological mechanisms or development of neuronal learning. Too achieve this, cross-disciplinary approaches are necessary, combining field work, bioacoustic methods, statistical tools such as machine learning, ecological knowledge and phylogenetic methods. Here, I will describe computational methods for the treatment and classification of bird vocalisations and will use them to depict the relationships between bird populations. First, I discretise the data in order to define the cultural traits. Then phylogenetic tree-building methods are used. Two approaches are possible, first to map these traits onto known phylogenies and, second, to directly build the phylogeny of these traits. I describe the application of these methods to test several hypothesis on bird songs evolution related to both their history and the mechanisms with which they evolve. Evidence for the presence of dialects in the Puget Sound white-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys pugetensis) is provided on the basis of the syllable content of the songs. The absence of vocal sexual dimorphism is reported in the Australasian gannet (or takapu, Morus serrator), a member of the Sulidae family for which extensive sexual dimorphism has been reported in other species. Subsequently, convergence between the begging calls of several cuckoo species and their respective hosts is suggested by various bioacoustic methods. In addition, the male calls of the hihi (or stitchbird, Notiomystis cincta) is analysed in an island population. The corresponding pattern of variation suggests a post-dispersal acquisition of calls via learning which is in agreement with the most related species in the revised phylogeny of the hihi. Finally, the mechanisms of song evolution are depicted in translocated populations of tieke (or saddleback, Philesturnus carunculatus rufusater), resulting in the development of island dialects.
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Burt, John Michael. "Birdsong communication and perception : field and laboratory studies /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/9129.
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Reeves, Brendan J. "Neural basis of song perception in songbirds /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/9127.
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Keenan, Patrick C. "Call learning and call variation in red crossbills." Laramie, Wyo. : University of Wyoming, 2007. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1404346411&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=18949&RQT=309&VName=PQD.
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Slattery, Samantha J. "Influence of male song on extra-pair paternity in the black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) and Carolina chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) hybrid zone." Click here for download, 2008. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1495963841&sid=2&Fmt=2&clientId=3260&RQT=309&VName=PQD.
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Johnson, Gayle. "Vocalizations in the Grey Butcherbird Cracticus Torquatus with Emphasis on Structure in Male Breeding Song: Implications for the Function and Evolution of Song from a Study of a Southern Hemisphere Species." Thesis, Griffith University, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/366380.
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An undue focus on Temperate Zone oscines (songbirds or passerines) has led to a geographical bias in interpretation of song function and evolution. This bias led initially to relatively simplistic theories of the function of bird song with vocalizations divided into 'songs' and 'calls'. Songs were complex, learned vocalizations, given by males in the breeding season, functioning in territory defence and mate attraction and stimulation. Calls, on the other hand, were simple innate vocalizations serving more immediate needs such as begging for food and raising an alarm. Female song, where it occurred, was considered an aberration. Further studies suggested that complex songs were associated with mate attraction functions while simpler songs were associated with territory defence.
However it became apparent that the distinction between songs and calls was not nearly so clear-cut and the supposed connection between complexity and function in song was questioned. Moreover it was realised that female song could not be dismissed as a mere aberration. Another problem was the function of the dawn chorus, where research had failed to find a consistent, all-encompassing explanation.
Since most studies had been done on Northern Hemisphere songbirds, it was becoming clear that the geographical focus needed to be broadened. The life histories of Northern Hemisphere Temperate Zone songbirds are very different from those in many other regions. In contrast to the situation in this zone, maintenance of year-round territory, territory defence by both male and female, life-long social monogamy and extensive female vocalization are widespread in tropical, subtropical and Southern Hemisphere regions. Recently it has been suggested that more intensive studies of vocalizations in these regions might help clarify some of these issues and consequently an endemic Australian passerine was chosen for the current study.
The study focused on the vocalizations of the grey butcherbird Cracticus torquatus Artamidae, which displays the life history features described above. The main study population was located in the Brisbane suburbs of Rainworth and Bardon. Additional data were gathered from other Brisbane suburbs and bushland sites within the city and at Lake Broadwater near Dalby, Queensland. Vocalizations were initially recorded electronically and analysed using Canary sound editing program. Vocalization data were supplemented using an aural recording method, which was independently checked for reliability. Behavioural data including posture during vocalizations and interactions with other birds were also gathered.
Initial investigations revealed the existence of two main categories of vocalizations - those given by the family group during the day, all year round and those given at dawn by males during the breeding season. For the focal study populations, group vocalizations were studied throughout the year over several years, however the song given at dawn by males during the breeding season proved to be quite complex and three birds from three territories in the main study area were chosen as case studies. Recordings were made of the vocalizations of the three case study birds over three breeding seasons. Starting and finishing times (with respect to civil twilight) were recorded in order to determine both changes in song bout duration and starting time throughout the breeding season. Additional birds from the same area, from the other Brisbane suburbs and from the bushland sites were studied to check the validity of conclusions drawn from the case studies.
The results of the investigations revealed a vocalization structure that contrasted strongly with the simple picture of bird song drawn from study of Northern Hemisphere Temperate Zone passerines. The vocalizations given during the day, often referred to as the 'song' of this species, were very different from the early dawn song given by the male during the breeding season. This latter appeared to be song sensu stricto according to the paradigms developed for Northern Hemisphere birds. The daytime vocalizations, however, fitted neither the classic definition of 'song' nor the classic definition of 'call'.
This relatively long-term study revealed different starting time patterns and periodicity for day vocalizations and male breeding season song. Day vocalizations commenced at a fairly constant time with respect to civil twilight throughout the year but breeding season song started progressively earlier from the beginning through to the middle of the season then progressively later till the end of the season. Relative finishing time of breeding song however remained constant so that the duration of breeding season song gradually increased then decreased paralleling the change in starting times.
A consequence of the two distinct classes of vocalizations was that there were essentially two distinct 'dawn choruses'. One, consisting of group vocals, was sung all year round; the other was given by males singing 'breeding season' song. Since there was no reason the expect that a single function would necessarily be ascribed to both choruses, this raised the possibility that some of the confusion surrounding the function and nature of the 'dawn chorus' originated from a failure to recognize the existence of two such choruses.
Variation in time and space showed further differences between the two vocalization classes. The breeding song of each male was distinctly different from that of his neighbours and there was a marked change in the repertoire of any individual from one year to the next. In marked contrast, daytime vocalization repertoires of neighbouring groups were virtually indistinguishable and changed little from year to year. These findings, together with information from recent literature, suggested that the two song classes had a different ontogeny, function and possibly evolution.
It was proposed that territory declaration was the function of dawn singing by grey butcherbird family groups but that the function most consistent with adult male dawn song was attraction of females for extra-pair copulations. It was suggested that chorusing itself was to some extent an accidental by-product of the advantage to the individual or group of singing at dawn although a recently proposed function, the social dynamics function, could not be ruled out.
Further differences from the Northern Hemisphere situation were detected in subsong. First, subsong was given by birds in their first year and also by adult males. The finding of subsong in adult males was not without precedent as it has been documented previously for a small number of passerines, especially those that change repertoire from year to year. Subsong in young (first year) birds, however, was unusual in that birds practised in small groups rather than in the complete isolation usually associated with subsong. Moreover they did not practise adult male song but instead practised group daytime vocalizations. It was suggested that it was important for birds to learn to sing in company for the important task of group territory defence.
Further investigation of the literature and observations during the present study revealed similar vocalization classes and behaviours in other members of the Artamidae and other endemic Australasian taxa. These literature investigations also revealed that the possession two song vocalization classes was quite widespread although they tended to be restricted (but not exclusive) to males rather than found in males and females. These findings led to further research into the significance of Australia in the evolution of songbirds, the role of co-operative breeding in Australian passerines, and finally to an hypothesis for a possible origin of male bird song. It is suggested that male song arose in a social environment where the male and female were in frequent vocal communication. If the tendency to seek extra-pair copulations (EPCs) and female choice had already been incorporated into the suite of passerine behaviours, it would be necessary to avoid the mate during such activities and the male would need to advertise with a sThesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Australian School of Environmental Studies
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Couroux, Christina. "Neighbor-stranger discrimination and individual recognition by voice in the American redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/tape16/PQDD_0027/MQ37111.pdf.
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Mountjoy, Donald James. "Male song and sexual selection in the European starling." Thesis, McGill University, 1994. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=41726.
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The function of the complex song of the European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) was examined. Song playback experiments showed that both male and female starlings were attracted by song, and complex song inhibited males from entering nestboxes. Wild starlings (at least two years old when first recorded) showed extensive changes in the composition of their song phrase repertoires and most also increased the size of their repertoires, which will result in a correlation between age and repertoire size in this species. Females prefer males that have more complex song, and this preference remained significant when preferences for certain nest sites were controlled. Males with larger repertoires did not spend more time incubating or make more feeding visits to nestlings than did males with smaller repertoires. The evolution of complex song in the European starling is consistent with an age-indicator model of sexual selection, in which aspects of male quality correlated with age are advertised by the complexity of male song.
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Cassidy, Alice Louise Ethel Victoria. "Male quality as expressed by song and plumage in yellow warblers (Dendroica petechia) and its relationship to mate choice and reproductive success." Thesis, McGill University, 1987. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=63785.
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Soendjoto, Mochamad Arief. "Vocalization behavior of captive loggerhead shrikes (Lanius ludovicianus excubitorides)." Thesis, McGill University, 1995. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=23427.
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Vocalization behavior of captive loggerhead shrikes was studied at the Avian Science and Conservation Centre of McGill University. In the first stage, calls of two pairs kept in indoor cages were individually recorded not only to catalogue these calls spectrographically and quantitatively but also to use them in identifying the birds sexually. Males vocalized 21 call figures for 16.50% of the observation time and females, 8 call figures for 2.64% of the observation time. Males contiguously delivered 1 to 11 bouts with a mean of 7.25 min for a rate of 6.06 bouts/h; females delivered 1 to 9 bouts with a mean of 4.07 min for a rate of 1.27 bouts/h. Males not only vocalized at a higher rate and longer than females, but also demonstrated trill calls which the females did not do. In the second stage, five pairs were paired in large outdoor breeding pens. Their calls were recorded and current visual displays observed in an effort to understand calls related to breeding behaviors. Two new calls figures vocalized by males as well as 2 call figures by young shrikes were recorded. Each male demonstrated distinctive calls that differed from those of other males during nest-site selection, nest building and copulation, but similar calls during food offering, aggressive and alarm behavior. Despite the call differences, all males performed similar visual displays during the above activities. Conversely, breeding females gave no calls, other than harsh calls during food offering, food begging, aggressive and alarm behaviors.
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Stoumbos, Julia A. "Effects of altered prenatal auditory experience on postnatal auditory preferences in bobwhite quail chicks." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/41907.
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Fox, Elizabeth J. S. "Call-independent identification in birds." University of Western Australia. School of Animal Biology, 2008. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2008.0218.
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[Truncated abstract] The identification of individual animals based on acoustic parameters is a non-invasive method of identifying individuals with considerable advantages over physical marking procedures. One requirement for an effective and practical method of acoustic individual identification is that it is call-independent, i.e. determining identity does not require a comparison of the same call or song type. This means that an individuals identity over time can be determined regardless of any changes to its vocal repertoire, and different individuals can be compared regardless of whether they share calls. Although several methods of acoustic identification currently exist, for example discriminant function analysis or spectrographic cross-correlation, none are call-independent. Call-independent identification has been developed for human speaker recognition, and this thesis aimed to: 1) determine if call-independent identification was possible in birds, using similar methods to those used for human speaker recognition, 2) examine the impact of noise in a recording on the identification accuracy and determine methods of removing the noise and increasing accuracy, 3) provide a comparison of features and classifiers to determine the best method of call-independent identification in birds, and 4) determine the practical limitations of call-independent identification in birds, with respect to increasing population size, changing vocal characteristics over time, using different call categories, and using the method in an open population. ... For classification, Gaussian mixture models and probabilistic neural networks resulted in higher accuracy, and were simpler to use, than multilayer perceptrons. Using the best methods of feature extraction and classification resulted in 86-95.5% identification accuracy for two passerine species, with all individuals correctly identified. A study of the limitations of the technique, in terms of population size, the category of call used, accuracy over time, and the effects of having an open population, found that acoustic identification using perceptual linear prediction and probabilistic neural networks can be used to successfully identify individuals in a population of at least 40 individuals, can be used successfully on call categories other than song, and can be used in open populations in which a new recording may belong to a previously unknown individual. However, identity was only able to be determined with accuracy for less than three months, limiting the current technique to short-term field studies. This thesis demonstrates the application of speaker recognition technology to enable call-independent identification in birds. Call-independence is a pre-requisite for the successful application of acoustic individual identification in many species, especially passerines, but has so far received little attention in the scientific literature. This thesis demonstrates that call-independent identification is possible in birds, as well as testing and finding methods to overcome the practical limitations of the methods, enabling their future use in biological studies, particularly for the conservation of threatened species.
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Kaluthota, Chinthaka Dhanyakumara. "The organization and variability of song in Northern House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon parkmanii)." Thesis, Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Psychology, c2013, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10133/3353.
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Hypothesized functions of complex song in birds include a role in mate attraction
and territory defense and, through regional dialects, in genetic substructuring of
populations and speciation. The necessary first step in testing such functions is a detailed
characterization of song organization and variability. This is provided for the Northern
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon), a species noted for complex song, but lacking detailed
descriptions. The species was studied at two sites in Alberta with a sample of 15,000
songs from 15 males. Males sang in long bouts, each song composed of multiple syllable
types and repeated many times before switching. The population repertoire of 27
syllables was almost entirely shared, but used to construct novel repertoires of up to 200
different song types for individual males without evidence of a ceiling. Additional
flexibility and constraints in song construction are discussed in view of the above noted
functions of song complexity.x, 111 leaves : ill., maps ; 29 cm
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Register, Sarah M. "Breeding biology and habitat associations of cerulean warblers in southern Indiana." Virtual Press, 2007. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1372052.
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The Cerulean Warbler (Dendroica cerulea), a once common summer inhabitant and breeder in southern Indiana, has declined at both local and continental population levels. Effects of specific silvicultural practices on the distribution and abundance of the Cerulean Warbler is unknown. During the summers of 2005 & 2006, Cerulean Warblers were surveyed within the Morgan-Monroe and Yellowwood state forests, as well as the Hoosier National Forest in southern Indiana. Three forest types were surveyed; unharvested reference sites were compared with single tree selection treatments and treatments where a combination of group and single tree selection was used. Mean bird abundance was estimated from bird surveys to determine if a correlation exists between silvicultural regimes and Cerulean Warbler abundance. Cerulean Warblers were located in all treatment types, with no significant differences in abundance between or among treatment types examined. These results suggest that uneven-age management practices, such as single tree and group selection harvesting, provide suitable breeding habitat for Cerulean Warblers.Knowledge of Cerulean Warbler (Dendroica cerulea) male pairing status based on song rates and frequencies, as well as familiarity with non-song vocalizations could be an effective management tool when studying this species. Cerulean Warblers were recorded throughout the breeding season, and 18 song variables were measured and compared between paired and unpaired males using Logistic Regression. Unpaired males had higher song rates and higher minimum frequencies than paired male counterparts. Female and fledgling call notes were also recorded and quantitatively analyzed. These analyses offer further understanding of intraspecific call functions of this species.Department of Biology
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Thieltges, Hélène. "Distribution spatiale, stabilité et perception des dialectes chez deux espèces d’oiseaux guyanais (Cacicus cela et Cacicus haemorrhous)." Thesis, Rennes 1, 2013. http://www.theses.fr/2013REN1S169/document.
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De nombreuses études portant sur les dialectes ont ouvert de nouvelles perspectives sur l’origine, le maintien et la fonction des dialectes chez les oscines. Trois hypothèses ont été formulées : le modèle historique (les dialectes résulteraient d’effets secondaires de l’apprentissage vocal), le modèle de spécialisation raciale (les dialectes résulteraient de populations génétiquement distinctes) et le modèle d’adaptation sociale (les dialectes résulteraient d’apprentissages à fonction sociale). Les caciques cul-jaune (Cacicus cela) ont été un modèle pionnier pour la mise en évidence de dialectes sociaux. Paradoxalement, chez l’espèce voisine des caciques cul-rouge (Cacicus haemorrhous), les dialectes sont indiqués comme étant absents. Le but de cette étude est de vérifier l’existence de dialectes chez les C. cela, de rechercher leur présence chez les C. haemorrrhous, d’étudier leur distribution spatiale et leur stabilité temporelle, et de tester expérimentalement (chez C. cela) leur perception par les membres de la colonie. L’intégralité de l’étude a été réalisée en Guyane Française sur des colonies de nidification. Les paramètres acoustiques temporels et de fréquence des chants courts produits par les mâles de chaque espèce ont été mesurés au cours de plusieurs années. Des expériences ont été menées, où des chants de différents dialectes ont été diffusés dans les colonies. Nous avons trouvé un chant court similaire à celui de C. cela chez C. haemorrhous. Nous avons confirmé la présence de dialectes de colonies proches chez C. cela et démontré leur présence pour la première fois chez C. haemorrhous. Les dialectes des deux espèces présentent une variation temporelle rapide, avec des dialectes différents chaque année au même endroit (différence plus marquée chez les C. cela). Les C. cela discriminent les dialectes de leur propre colonie des dialectes d'origine lointaine. Ils répondent notamment à ces derniers en produisant la première note de leur chant court. Ces résultats favorisent l’hypothèse d’adaptation sociale pour les dialectes chez ces deux espèces de CacicusNumerous studies of dialects opened new perspectives on the origin, sustained presence and function of dialects in oscine birds. Three hypotheses have been proposed: the historical model (dialects would be by-products of vocal learning), the racial specialization model (dialects would be due to genetic differences between populations) and the social adaptation model (dialects would result from socially adaptive learning processes). Yellow-rumped caciques (Cacicus cela) have been a pioneer model for evidencing social dialects. Paradoxically, dialects have been indicated as absent in the closely related species red-rumped caciques (Cacicus haemorrhous). This study aims to verify the existence of dialects in C. cela, seek after the presence of dialects in C. haemorrrhous, study their spatial distribution and temporal stability, and test experimentally (in C. cela) their differential perception by colony members. The whole study was performed in French Guyana at nesting colonies. We measured timing and frequency acoustic parameters of short songs produced by males of both species during several years. We conducted experiments at colonies where we played back songs from different dialects. We found a colonial “short song” similar to that of C. cela in C. haemorrhous. We confirmed the presence of neighboring colony dialects in C. cela and we demonstrated their presence for the first time in C. haemorrhous. Dialects in both species show a fast temporal variation, with different dialects every year at the same place (difference more pronounced in C. cela). C. cela birds discriminate the dialects of their own colony from those of far distant origin. They notably answer the latter by voicing the first note of their short song. These results are in favor of the hypothesis of social adaptation for dialects in these two Cacicus species
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Fouillard, Chantel Clarice. "Song sharing in the northern house wren (Troglodytes aedon parkmanii)." Thesis, Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Psychology, c2013, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10133/3399.
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This work provides an initial characterization of song sharing among males in the Northern House Wren (Troglodytes aedon parkmanii). A sample of 21 different males was studied at two different locations across two breeding seasons in southern Alberta, Canada. In total, 35,067 songs were analyzed to assess patterns of song sharing among males within and between study sites and in returning males between years. Virtually all syllable types (n=27) were shared among males. However, they were used to create very large repertoires of mostly unique song types. Absolute levels of song sharing among males was low but song sharing was higher among neighbouring males and decreased with increasing distance between males and across study sites. These patterns are discussed as they relate to important issues in the process of song learning, in the functions of large song repertoires in mate attraction and territory defense, and in the potential formation of dialects in this species.xi, 102 leaves ; 29 cm
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Armstrong, Debbie Maree. "The role of vocal communication in the biology of fledgling and juvenile kea (Nestor notabilis) in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Zoology in the University of Canterbury /." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Biological Sciences, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/1316.
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The kea is the only parrot species in the world to include the true alpine environment as part of their habitat. Survival in these harsh alpine conditions has been hypothesised to be the cause of the generalist behaviour of kea, leading to their heightened explorative behaviour and curiosity. Kea are also widely regarded as being extraordinarily intelligent. It is their intelligence that suggests that kea may possess a sophisticated communication system. I conducted a study exploring the potentially complex vocal repertoire of the kea. My study was conducted with wild population of banded juvenile and fledgling kea in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park between February 2003 and April 2004. I obtained 449 vocalisations from 16 identified and several unidentified kea. The results of this study confirmed that the vocal repertoire of the kea is exceptionally large for a parrot species, encompassing over 17 vocalisations. This study revealed five vocalisations previously undescribed in the kea repertoire and showed for the first time that vocal repertoire of immature kea may be different to the repertoire of adult kea. Two possible gender specific vocalisations were also revealed. The study of apparent vocal responses revealed that kea appear to be able to identify vocalisation types and respond accordingly using combinations of increasingly complex vocalisations. This is also the first study to take advantage of the similarity between human and parrot vocal systems for the kea, by utilizing powerful human speech analysis software. The results of this analysis allowed the identification of subtle differences in kea vocalisations, including the presence of graded signals, not identifiable by use of spectrogram analysis.
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Stark, Robert D. "An analysis of eastern Nearctic woodpecker drums." Columbus, Ohio : Ohio State University, 2002. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1028842312.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2002.Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xxviii, 323 pages; also contains graphics. Includes abstract and vita. Advisor: David Stetson, Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology. Includes bibliographical references (p. 302-323).
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Kraft, David. "Birdsong in the music of Olivier Messiaen." Thesis, Middlesex University, 2000. http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/6445/.
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The intention of this investigation is to formulate a chronological survey of Messiaen's treatment of birdsong, taking into account the species involved and the composer's evolving methods of motivic manipulation instrumentation in corporation of intrinsic characteristics and structure. The approach taken in this study is to survey selected works in turn, developing appropriate tabular forms with regard to Messiaen's use of 'style oiseau', identified bird vocalisations and even the frequent appearances of music that includes familiar characteristics of bird style, although not so labelled in the score. Due to the repetitive nature of so many motivic fragments in birdsong, it has become necessary to develop new terminology and incorporate derivations from other research findings. The 'motivic classification' tables, for instance present the essential motivic features in some very complex birdsong. The study begins by establishing the importance of the unique musical procedures developed by Messiaen: these involve, for example questions of form, melody and rhythm. The problem of 'authenticity' - that is, the degree of accuracy with which Messiaen chooses to treat birdsong- is then examined. A chronological survey of Messiaen's use of birdsong in selected major works follows, demonstrating an evolution from the general term 'oiseau' to the precise attribution of particular material to particular birds. In later periods the composer explores new Instrumentation and accompanying harmonies (or chordal complexities) to create as closely as possible the unique timbres and other idiosyncrasies of birds' vocalisations; at the same time, Messiaen begins to introduce a much larger variety of species in to his music using birdsong from all over the world. The representations of birdsong are much more 'authentic', or at least more colourful, than in previous works and perhaps, with the accompanying portrayal of landscape in (for example) Catalogue, greater verisimilitude is created. The inclusion of so many exotic species in the scores of, for instance Sept Haikai and Chronochromie is a result of Messiaen's meticulous ornithological investigations and painstaking notations. More importantly, the monophonic bird style tends increasingly to be replaced by other textures such as two-voice homophony, homorhythm, hybrid forms and polyphony. The most pertinent works of this final period are evaluated clearly displaying the many features of each birdsong and call, and their part in the structure of the pieces. Conclusions are drawn concerning the technical means by which the composer realises t he distinguishing features of each birdsong. The thesis is sustained by a close study of three elements governing Messiaen's treatment of birdsong (rhythm, .melody and structure), especially considering the close relationship between them. There has not previously been a systematic attempt to analyse Messiaen's pieces in this way. This research provides a coherent structural overview of Messiaen's employment of birdsong, displaying recurring patterns found in the use of rhythm, melody and structure. Further, the recent publication of Messiaen's 'Trait de Rythme, de Couleur et d'Ornithologie' enables the research to be genuinely up-to-date, using the composer's personal comments on, and analyses of, birdsongs found frequently in his music.
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Van, der Merwe Hugo Jacobus. "Bird song recognition with Hidden Markov Models /." Thesis, Link to the online version, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10019/914.
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Wohlgemuth, Melville Joseph III. "Motor planning for syllable sequence and phonology in birdsong." Diss., Search in ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. UC Only, 2008. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3339208.
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Theofanopoulou, Constantina. "Implications of oxytocin in speech." Doctoral thesis, Universitat de Barcelona, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/666660.
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In my thesis I investigate the evolution of human sociality and its possible role for providing a scaffold to the evolution of language. My approach is multidisciplinary and includes studies ranging from genomic analyses to behavioral experiments in songbirds. My hypothesis is that oxytocin is a good candidate molecule that could help us decipher the role the evolution of our sociality plays in the evolution of language, as well as the role of social reward/motivation in language acquisition.
I study the evolution of human sociality mainly through the lens of the ‘self-domestication’ hypothesis, according to which natural selection in humans favored increased prosociality over aggression (Hare 2017), giving rise to a behavioral and an anatomical phenotype that is reminiscent of the one we witness in domesticated species. In Theofanopoulou et al. 2017 (Chapter 1) we examine if this old hypothesis, stemming from thoughts formulated in Darwin 1888, makes sense at a genetic level. We identify a statistically significant intersection of genes under positive selection in modern humans and in one or more domesticated species.
Oxytocin/vasopressin receptors are among the genes that have been studied the most in the context of domestication and social cognition. We studied variant changes in these genes between modern humans and our extinct (Neanderthals and Denisovans) and extant relatives (macaques, bonobos, chimpanzees) (Theofanopoulou et al. 2018, Appendix Chapter 1) and report 29 variants which were clustered based on their presence in the species studied and discuss their functional relevance.
In Theofanopoulou 2016 (Chapter 2) I put together studies from the literature that point to a role of oxytocin in modulating the multimodality that characterizes our linguistic ability. I follow a bottom up approach, starting off from possible genetic interactions that could support this role, and ending with evidence from EEG (electroencephalography) and behavioral studies.
In Theofanopoulou, Boeckx, and Jarvis 2017 (Chapter 3), we propose specific neural mechanisms through which oxytocin could modulate brain regions that are specialized for vocal/speech learning directly, or indirectly through its interaction with dopaminergic neurons.
In Theofanopoulou et al. (Appendix Chapter 2) we experimentally address the traditional idea that social reward enhances learning in the realm of vocal learning. In human studies it is not possible to dissociate social reward from vocal learning and study its exact impact on it, so we attempted such a dissociation developing a vocal learning behavioral paradigm with and without social reward in zebra finches. We found that social reward gates their vocal (pitch) learning.
In Theofanopoulou et al. (Appendix Chapter 3), we manipulated the oxytocin-system in zebra finches and found that an administration of an oxytocin-antagonist leads to a significant drop in the number of introductory notes in their love song.
In Theofanopoulou et al. (Appendix Chapter 4) we study the synteny (genomic territory) of the oxytocin and vasopressin/vasotocin ligands and receptors in 33 vertebrate genomes and 4 invertebrate outgroups and we propose an evolutionary history and a new universal vertebrate nomenclature for all these genes.
In conclusion, Ι believe that this thesis offers a fertile ground for future experiments seeking to unravel the effect of social reward in vocal learning developmentally, something that can shed light to the effect that the evolution of our sociality might have had in the evolution of a fully- fledged language in our species. My thesis also lends evidence to a specific hypothesis under which our sociality can be studied, the ‘self-domestication’ hypothesis. Further, the oxytocin
and vasotocin systems are shown to be good candidates for uncovering changes that might have had an effect on the evolution of prosociality, but also changes that affect vocal learning behaviors. Lastly, my thesis proposes a universal nomenclature for the vertebrate oxytocin and vasotocin ligands and receptors that is meant to allow easier translation of findings across vertebrates and to foster more informative design of functional experiments across species.
References
Darwin, C. (1888). The descent of man and selection in relation to sex. Murray.
Hare, B. (2017). Survival of the Friendliest: Homo sapiens Evolved via Selection for Prosociality. Annual Review of Psychology, 68(1), 155–186.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010416-044201
Theofanopoulou, C., Andirko, A., & Boeckx, C. (2018). Oxytocin and Vasopressin Receptor variants as a window onto the evolution of human prosociality. BioRxiv, 460584. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/460584. (Appendix Chapter1)
Theofanopoulou, C. (2016). Implications of oxytocin in human linguistic cognition: From genome to phenome. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 10(271). https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2016.00271 (Chapter 2)
Theofanopoulou, C., Boeckx, C., & Jarvis, E. D. (2017). A hypothesis on a role of oxytocin in the social mechanisms of speech and vocal learning. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 284(1861), 20170988. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.0988
(Chapter 3)
Theofanopoulou, C., Gastaldon, S., O’Rourke, T., Samuels, B. D., Tiago Martins, P., Delogu, F., … Boeckx, C. (2017). Self-domestication in homo sapiens: Insights from comparative genomics. PLoS ONE 12(10): e0185306. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0185306 (Chapter 1)
Theofanopoulou, C., Lipkind, D., Tchernichovski, O., Boeckx, C., & Jarvis, E.D. (Appendix Chapter 2). Selective vocal learning in a social reward context.
Theofanopoulou, C., Boeckx, C., & Jarvis, E. D. (Appendix Chapter 3). Pilot study: testing the effect of intranasal administration of an oxytocin-receptor antagonist in adult zebra finch directed singing.
Theofanopoulou, C., Gedman, G., Cahill, J. A., Boeckx, C., & Jarvis, E.D. (Appendix Chapter 4). A proposed universal nomenclature for the oxytocin and vasotocin ligand and receptor families and their evolutionary history.
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Zollinger, Sue Anne. "Performance constraints and vocal complexity in birdsong evidence from a vocal mimic /." [Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2007. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3277967.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Biology, 2007.Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-09, Section: B, page: 5665. Adviser: Roderick A. Suthers. Title from dissertation home page (viewed May 8, 2008).
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Ali, Farhan. "Modularity in birdsong motor learning: delineating the role of the basal ganglia." Thesis, Harvard University, 2014. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:13070035.
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Speech, writing, and tool-use are all prime examples of everyday learned motor skills that together with dance, music, and sports performance represent the full glory of human cultural expression afforded by dexterous digits, limbs, and bodies. Learning to subconsciously move parts of our body is an underappreciated function of the brain. This dissertation aims to illuminate this process through a series of studies using the zebra finch as a model system. It addresses two major questions. First, what level of modularity is involved in motor learning? Specifically, can we decompose complex learned skills, such as the zebra finch song, into their distinct components such as spectral and temporal aspects? And if so, how independent are these various aspects of motor skill learning and execution from one another? Second, to what degree are the basal ganglia, essential and phylogenetically conserved parts of the motor system, involved in different aspects of motor skill learning? In Chapter 1 of this dissertation, I describe the complex learned vocalization of the zebra finch as a model for understanding these questions, highlighting the use of a rapid and well-controlled learning paradigm termed conditional auditory feedback (CAF). In Chapter 2, using CAF, focal lesions and recordings, I test the role of a songbird basal ganglia pathway in distinct aspects of motor learning. I find that the basal ganglia pathway is necessary for learning spectral but not temporal aspects of the song whereas a pre-motor cortical area encodes changes in the temporal but not spectral structure, suggesting a modularity in birdsong motor learning. In Chapter 3, I infer the mechanisms underlying the basal ganglia-independent temporal learning. Further CAF experiments demonstrate that the nervous system is capable of flexibly modifying temporal structure in one part of the song without affecting the timing in the rest of the song, uncovering yet another level of modularity in encoding song structure. Chapters 2 and 3 provide evidence for the modularity in learning the mean spectral and temporal structure. However, motor performance is also characterized by its trial-to-trial variability around the mean. In Chapter 4, I describe CAF experiments to interrogate the neural basis underlying changes in variability around a mean. I show that spectral variability can be modulated in a very specific manner and independently in different parts of the song. I show that this temporally-specific modulation of variability is mediated by the basal ganglia. Overall, the dissertation suggests that complex motor skills emerge from basic functional modules that independently learn, modulate, and control distinct aspects of learned motor output.
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Barker, Stuart J. "From birdsong to rotor slap : the sonic experience of American national parks." Thesis, University of Kent, 2018. https://kar.kent.ac.uk/69227/.
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This thesis explores how Euro-American settlers, explorers, tourists and to a more limited extent Native Americans, have listened to and interpreted natural sounds within the United States. It examines how Americans gained knowledge of their environment through the sounds that they listened to, and argues that the aural sense was pivotal to their understanding of these places. Primarily, this thesis investigates these experiences through case studies of two national parks, the Grand Canyon and Yosemite. I explore how the soundscapes of these two parks evolved from sounding predominantly natural at the mid to end of the nineteenth century to having the sonic imprint of tourism and mechanisation in the twentieth century. The effect that noise pollution had on visitors' perceptions of these places is examined and I argue that human-made noise altered their sense of place. John Muir's engagement with natural sounds and his promotion of national parks as a sonic experience are detailed. I argue that Muir rated the aural sense alongside the visual in his enjoyment of nature. This thesis offers a new approach to environmental and national park scholarship, which have both previously failed to explain or even explore the human experience of natural spaces through the aural sense in any depth. I argue that listening was core to the national park experience and challenge the visuocentric approach to both environmental and national park history. The following work also expands on previous aural history scholarship that has largely centred on urban soundscapes.
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Guerreiro, Duarte Rivaes da Silva Ana Sofia. "Stopover ecology of migrant songbirds at the Ebro delta = Ecologia de parada migratòria de passeriformes al Delta de l'Ebre." Doctoral thesis, Universitat de Barcelona, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/666640.
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Migration associated with movements between breeding and wintering areas allow animals to maximize fitness in response to seasonal changes in resources (Dingle 2014). Some of the most incredible migrations in the animal world are performed by birds which are possibly one of the best-studied migratory groups. Prior to migration, birds accumulate fat stores that may account for up to 50% of their body mass (Nielsen and Riis 2013) and once these fat stores are depleted after a flight bout they are replenished at stopover sites along the migration route.
Migration is a dangerous life stage, which means that migrants have higher probability of perish while migrating than non-migrants. The mortality rates during the migratory period may be at least 15 times higher compared to that in the stationary periods of the annual life cycle (Sillett and Holmes 2002). Moreover, imagine small passerine birds, many of them inexperienced birds, born only some months before the beginning of migration, sometimes weighting just 10g or less, flying by night thousands of kilometres to encounter new kinds of habitats (Mettke-Hofmann and Greenberg 2005), competition for food resources (Moore and Yong 1991), predators (Lindström 1989), and inclement weather (Newton 2007), all while needing to maintain adequate fat reserves to perform their long-distance flight successfully. In fact, migrant bird populations suffer nowadays a sustained decline as shown in analyses of bird population trends across Europe (Sanderson et al., 2006; Vickery et al. 2014), North America (Ballard et al. 2003) and East Asia (MacKinnon et al. 2012). This decline is strongly associated with the accumulative impact of certain human activities such as habitat loss (Aharon-Rotman 2016), hunting (Raine 2016, Clausen et al. 2017) and climate change (Jiao et al. 2016) on the areas used by birds in their migratory routes (Crick 2004), especially on stopover sites (Bairlein 2016).
Understanding the quality and availability of highly used stopover sites is vital for migratory bird conservation (Mehlman et al. 2005) and to know where migratory birds stop during their migrations and how the sites function for migrants will provide information for conservation and management of suitable stopover areas and therefore, help in the development of full-life-cycle specific conservation plans.
The Iberian Peninsula geographically connects Africa and Western Europe and migrants use it in transit between breeding and wintering grounds during both migration periods (Newton 2008). It becomes an ideal scenario for the study of migratory strategies (Bruderer and Liechti 1999) especially if we consider also Mediterranean wintering birds.
This thesis focusses on the significance of the Ebro delta, as the second most important wetland in the Western Mediterranean, for the migration of songbirds and draw an overall picture of the way migrant passerines use the area as a stopover site. Since the Ebro delta is a highly humanized area where several important economic activities take place (e.g. rice production, hunting, fishing and tourism), as well as a very fragile territory due to severe problems of coastal regression and subsidence, the information here gathered aims to help in future conservation plans that should take into account not only breeding species but also wintering and migrating ones, what will give even more importance to this coastal wetland, which we must protect at all costs.
Therefore, this thesis work overs the behaviour of both short/medium and long-distance migrants, i.e. Mediterranean wintering and trans-Saharan species, during their stopover at a coastal lagoon in the Ebro delta during both migration seasons (spring and autumn).
The tool used to investigate the issues exposed above was a cheap one and available to everyone who asks for it: the ring-recovery data. Bird ringing is long used to study migration processes, and although nowadays more trendy and modern methods are available (e.g. satellite telemetry, geolocation loggers), not all of them are affordable to everyone who wants to use them. If we realize that the EURING Data Bank (EDB) is a unique set of mark–reencounter data on European birds with more than 10 million encounter records and that is at the disposal of the scientific and conservation communities (du Feu et al. 2016) and that ringing is still required as the key technique for facilitating our understanding of migration (Bairlein and Schaub 2009), we can use its potential to evaluate the importance of stopover areas and contribute to their conservation and also of the species that depend on these areas to survive. Of course, the new methods are very useful and sometimes a lot more precise and the combination of these methods with ringing data will improve considerably our knowledge about the migration phenomenon in the future. But while we look for financing to tag our birds with geolocators, let’s start working out the more basic questions.
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Monbureau, Marie. "Implications of male birdsong in female reproduction in the domestic canary (Serinus canaria)." Paris 10, 2009. http://www.theses.fr/2009PA100072.
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On sait que chez les oiseaux chanteurs le chant est le principal caractère sexuel secondaire et qu’il a une influence majeure sur la reproduction. Le chant peut influencer une femelle dans le choix de son partenaire et agir sur la façon dont elle s’investira pour optimiser chaque tentative de reproduction. Le propos général de cette thèse est d’étudier l’impact du chant sur la reproduction chez le canari. Dans une première partie, nous avons étudié l’importance de ce chant par rapport à d’autres stimuli susceptibles d’influer sur le comportement sexuel des femelles. Nous avons montré que dans le choix de leur partenaire, les femelles prennent en compte la relation de dominance entre les mâles quand elle se manifeste par le chant et non pas par des interactions physiques entre eux. Dans une seconde partie, nous nous sommes demandés si le chant d’un mâle pouvait permettre à la femelle d’apprécier son degré de fertilité. Nous avons montré que meilleure était la qualité du chant (longueur et rythme d’émission), meilleure était la qualité du sperme, suggérant que le chant pouvait être un indicateur de fertilité. Dans la dernière partie, nous avons étudié l’impact du chant sur le système reproducteur de la femelle. Nous avons trouvé que des phrases moyennement attractives chantées par un mâle induisaient un dépôt plus important de testostérone dans l’œuf par la femelle, alors que les mêmes phrases produites par ordinateur, donc en l’absence de mâle, n’avaient pas d’effet. Cela suggère que si le chant n’est que moyennement attractif, des stimuli supplémentaires sont requis pour entraîner une augmentation du dépôt de testostérone dans l’œuf. Enfin, nous avons présenté le projet de recherche en cours. Il s’agira d’étudier l’activation des différentes régions du cerveau en réponse au chant. Ce projet pourrait permettre d’identifier les voies neuronales impliquées dans le dépôt différentiel de testostérone dans l’œuf en réponse à ce stimulusIn songbirds, song is known to be the primary sexually selected trait with extensive influences on reproduction. Song can influence a female in her choice for a mate and can also influence how she adjusts her own investment in order to optimize each reproductive attempt. The general aim of this thesis was to investigate the impact of song on reproduction in canary. In the first section, we investigated the importance of song compared to other cues for females to direct their sexual behavior. We showed that females pay attention, in order to direct this sexual behavior, to dominance manifested via song and not via physical interactions. In a second part of this thesis, we wanted to know if song could be a cue for the female that would allow her to judge the fertilization capacities of a male. We showed that the better the song quality was (song length and emission rate) the better the quality of sperm was, suggesting that song could signal male fertility. In the last section, we investigated the impact of song on the female reproductive system. We found that mildly attractive song phrases sung by a live male induced the female to deposit more testosterone in her eggs. However, these same songs, but computer generated, (i. E. Without the presence of the male), did not induce females to deposit more T. This suggests that other cues, in addition to mildly attractive song, may be necessary to increase T deposit. Finally, we present an on-going project, investigating the activation of different brain regions in response to song. This project could help to elucidate a neuronal pathway involved in the differential testosterone deposit in eggs in response to song
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Teramitsu, Ikuko. "Brain-behavior relationships in songbird common molecular mechanisms for birdsong and human speech." Diss., Restricted to subscribing institutions, 2006. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1324371081&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=1564&RQT=309&VName=PQD.
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Seltmann, Susanne Christine [Verfasser]. "The influence of melatonin on birdsong and its underlying neuronal correlates / Susanne Christine Seltmann." Konstanz : Bibliothek der Universität Konstanz, 2016. http://d-nb.info/117113195X/34.
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Gibb, Leif. "Inhibition, recurrent excitation, and neural feedback in computational models of sparse bursting and birdsong sequencing." Diss., [La Jolla, Calif.] : University of California, San Diego, 2009. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ucsd/fullcit?p3344677.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2009.Title from first page of PDF file (viewed March 19, 2009). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.
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Garst, Orozco Jonathan. "LEARNING-RELATED CHANGES IN THE FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY WITHIN THE ZEBRA FINCH SONG-CONTROL CIRCUIT." Thesis, Harvard University, 2014. http://dissertations.umi.com/gsas.harvard:11575.
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Many species-specific sensorimotor behaviors, such as speech in humans, emerge from the interplay between genetically defined developmental programs and sensory experience. How these processes interact during learning to shape motor circuits is not well understood. The zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), an oscine bird that learns to imitate the song of its tutor (usually the father), provides a uniquely tractable model for exploring this question. Song learning in zebra finches takes place during a discrete three-month period during which male juveniles progress from producing highly variable rudimentary sounds that are noisy and unstructured, to a highly stereotyped imitation of their tutor's song. Here I characterize learning-related changes in the functional connectivity within a motor cortex-analogue brain area (RA) that control song production.
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DuBois, Adrienne L. "The Adaptive Significance of Vocal Performance in Songbird Communication." Scholarly Repository, 2011. http://scholarlyrepository.miami.edu/oa_dissertations/562.
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The question of how honesty is maintained in animal communication is a perplexing one, especially in the context of aggressive communication, in which the interests of signalers and receivers are opposed. Relevant information for receivers in aggressive interactions includes the fighting ability of the signaler and its likelihood of attack. Signalers may, however, benefit from manipulation of signals to exaggerate this information. To address questions of signal honesty, this dissertation investigates the use of a performance signal in the song of swamp sparrows (Melospiza georgiana). Performance signals are ones that are physically demanding to perform and that therefore reveal the signaler’s physical ability. The particular measure of vocal performance examined here is vocal deviation, which refers to the ability of birds to produce trilled songs approaching a performance boundary defined by the tradeoff between song trill rate (the rate at which elements of a song are repeated) and frequency bandwidth (the range of frequencies encompassed in a song). Three questions regarding the adaptive significance of vocal performance were investigated in the swamp sparrow 1) whether vocal performance is used as a signal in male-male communication, 2) whether vocal performance should be classified as an index signal of male quality, and 3) whether vocal deviation serves as a signal of aggressive intent. Results from four studies indicate that vocal performance plays a role in male-male signaling. Signalers appear to use vocal performance as a signal and receivers attend to differences in vocal performance. Evidence also indicates that vocal performance can be classified as an index signal, because males are constrained in their ability to produce high performance song and high vocal performance is correlated with aspects of male quality, such as age and size. Finally, this dissertation does not support classification of vocal performance as a signal of aggressive intent, because vocal performance fails to predict aggressive escalation.
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Westcott, David Andrew. "Behaviour and social organization during the breeding season in Mionectes oleagineus (Aves, Tyrannidae)." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/30524.
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Mionectes oleagineus (Aves, Tyrannidae) is a small, sexually monomorphic, lek breeding bird. The behaviour and mating system of this species were studied on Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula over two years. In this thesis I ask three questions: 1) What kind of social organization does M. oleagineus exhibit? 2) Does habitat influence male display dispersion? and 3) What is the function of song in attracting mates and in male-male interactions?
In Chapter 2, I describe M. oleagineus' social organization. There were three categories of males: territory owners, satellites and floaters. The latter 2 categories were non-territorial and represented half of the male population. I describe interactions between displaying males and visitors to their territories, including courtship display and aggressive interactions between males. Male display dispersion was highly variable in the study area, including classical leks, in which territories shared contiguous boundaries, an exploded lek, where the territories did not share boundaries, and solitary display territories.
In Chapter 3, I test the hypothesis that the number of males that can settle in an area, and their subsequent display dispersion, is determined by the availability and dispersion of suitable habitat. Discriminant function analysis of measures of vegetation structure from both territories and non-territory sample plots showed that territory habitat could be distinguished from non-territory habitat. Eleven percent of the sample plots were described as suitable habitat in the analysis. Given that half the male population is non-territorial, the existence of unoccupied, suitable habitat makes it unlikely that habitat availability determines the number of males settling, or their display dispersion. The major occupation of males on their display territories is singing. In Chapter 4, I investigate the function of song for M. oleagineus using behavioural observation and an experiment involving temporary muting. Males which sang at higher rates received more visitors of both sexes. The territories of most muted territorial males were rapidly usurped by other males. Two of the muted males regained their territories upon regaining the ability to sing. This study is the first to directly demonstrate a key role for song in male-male interactions on leks. It also provides evidence that females use song in mate assessment.Science, Faculty of
Zoology, Department of
Graduate
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Triantafyllidou, Maria. "The limits of species recognition: heterospecific song learning in pied flycatchers." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för biologisk grundutbildning, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-303531.
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The closely related species pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) and collared flycatcher (F. albicollis) co-occur on the Swedish island of Öland, where they compete over similar resources. The majority of male pied flycatchers have been found to incorporate elements of the collared flycatcher song in their repertoire. Given that birdsong is partly inherited and partly learned, the relative contribution of genetic predispositions versus acoustic stimuli varies across different species. The results show that in pied flycatchers, song acquisition is tightly correlated with imprinting, and can therefore be greatly influenced by heterospecific tutors in their surroundings, i.e. male collared flycatchers. I found that pied males are capable of not only memorizing collared song elements, but also producing them with high fidelity. Thus, I infer that pied flycatchers are characterized by a high degree of vocal plasticity.
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Miller, Mary Claire. "A Garland of Roses." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1589368411081285.
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Nelson, Stephanie Gene Wright Nelson. "Song variation, song learning, and cultural change in two hybridizing songbird species, black-capped (Poecile atricapillus) and Carolina (P. carolinensis) chickadees." The Ohio State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1471210804.
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Le, Maguer Lucille. "Évolution culturelle du chant d'oiseau en laboratoire." Thesis, Paris 10, 2019. http://faraway.parisnanterre.fr/login?url=http://bdr.parisnanterre.fr/theses/intranet/2019/2019PA100157/2019PA100157.pdf.
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Comme les humains, certains animaux non-humains présentent des schémas comportementaux considérés comme des cultures. Le chant des oiseaux, un comportement appris, constitue un bon modèle pour étudier l'évolution de la culture vocale. Le but de cette thèse est de suivre l'évolution culturelle du chant au sein de plusieurs colonies de diamants mandarins (Taeniopygia guttata) fondées par des mâles produisant un chant très similaire après avoir été entrainés avec le même modèle de chant. Deux colonies ont été fondées par des mâles chantant un même modèle de chant, et une colonie a été fondée par des mâles en chantant un autre. Dans ces conditions artificielles, le chant a évolué de telle sorte que la similarité au modèle initial a été maintenue dans le temps et que chaque modèle de chant a conduit à des spécificités acoustiques particulières. C'est la première preuve expérimentale que des dialectes de chant peuvent émerger chez le diamant mandarin, formant ainsi des cultures vocales distinctes. Chez cette espèce sociale, de telles variations au niveau du chant pourraient avoir un rôle biologique. C'est pourquoi leur implication dans la préférence des femelles et l'apprentissage social a été étudiée. Les femelles préfèrent le dialecte natif à un dialecte étranger. Pourtant, les individus des deux sexes ne sont pas plus susceptibles de copier le choix de nourriture d'un oiseau chantant le dialecte de leur propre colonie, que le choix d'un oiseau chantant un dialecte différent. Ce travail de thèse marque une étape dans l'étude de l'évolution culturelle du chant du diamant mandarin en laboratoire et contribue à une meilleure compréhension des aspects dynamiques de l'évolution culturelle des signaux de communication, un sujet d’importance majeure dans les sciences du langageFor a long time, culture has been considered as a human specificity but there is extensive evidence in the animal kingdom that several species exhibit behavioural patterns considered as cultures. Birdsong is a learned behaviour and has been demonstrated as a valid model to study the evolution of vocal culture. The aim of this study is to track the cultural evolution of song in colonies of zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), starting with an extreme initial condition under which all male founders produce a very similar song after being trained with the same song model. Two colonies were founded by males singing a same song model and one colony was founded by males singing another song model. Overall, the results show that, in such artificial conditions, the song evolved in a way that the similarity to the initial model was maintained over time and each song model led to different acoustic specificities. This demonstration constitutes the first experimental evidence that song dialects can emerge in the zebra finch, forming distinct vocal cultures. Because such song variations could have biological significance in this social species, we investigated their implications for female preference and social learning. Female zebra finches preferred their native song dialect over a stranger one. Yet, birds of both sexes were not more likely to copy the food choice of a bird singing the dialect of their own colony than the choice of a bird singing a different dialect. This thesis work constitutes one step in understanding the cultural evolution of the zebra finch song in the laboratory and more generally, provides a better understanding of the dynamics of cultural evolution of communication signals, which represent an important topic in language research
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Whitney, Osceola Johnson Frank. "Experience-dependent gene expression for learned vocal behavior in the zebra finch songbird." Diss., 2004. http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-12052003-183738.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2004.Advisor: Dr. Frank Johnson, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed June 16, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.
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Dave, Amish S. "Mechanisms of sensorimotor vocal integration /." 2001. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3006486.
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