Quiet Song in Song Birds: An Overlooked Phenomenon

Dabelsteen, Torben; McGregor, Peter K.; Lampe, Helene M.; Langmore, Naomi E.; Holland, Jo

doi:10.1080/09524622.1998.9753385

Cited by 163 publications

(142 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…predators. Corroborative evidence to support this comes from studies on vocal amplitude in songbirds (Dabelsteen et al, 1998;Brumm and Todt, 2002;Brumm, in press). Finally the reported short-term adaptations in signal production may reflect ways of limiting the energetic costs of vocalizing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acoustic communication in noise: regulation of call characteristics in a New World monkey

Brumm

Voß

Köllmer

et al. 2004

Journal of Experimental Biology

312

208

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This study on common marmosets Callithrix jacchus is the first to examine noise-dependent mechanisms of vocal plasticity in a New World monkey. Since acoustic communication can be considerably impaired by environmental noise, some animals have evolved adaptations to counteract its masking effects. The studied marmosets increased the sound level of their spontaneous calls in response to increased levels of white noise broadcast to them. Possibly, such noise-dependent adjustment of vocal amplitude serves to maintain a specific signal-to-noise ratio that is favourable for signal production. Concurrently, the adjustment of vocal amplitude can maintain a given active space for communication. In contrast to some bird species, no noiseinduced increase in the number of syllables per call series could be found, showing that an increased serial redundancy of vocal signals was not used to communicate under noisy conditions. Finally, we examined a possible noise-dependent prolongation of vocal signals. This approach was guided by the findings of perceptional studies, which suggest an increased detection probability of prolonged signals in noise by temporal summation. Marmosets indeed increased the duration of their call syllables along with increasing background noise levels. This is the first evidence of such mechanism of vocal plasticity in an animal communication system.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acoustic communication in noise: regulation of call characteristics in a New World monkey

Brumm

Voß

Köllmer

et al. 2004

Journal of Experimental Biology

312

208

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“…In addition to LRS, many species sing a separate class of lowamplitude songs that are inconspicuous and often directed toward close-proximity conspecifics during interactions associated with courtship or elevated aggression (Dabelsteen et al 1998;Robinson and Hall 2002). Low-amplitude songs can be divided into two distinct classes based on structure: (1) soft long-range song (soft LRS), which differs from LRS only in its reduced amplitude, and (2) shortrange song (SRS; after Titus 1998), which typically shares few spectral and temporal characteristics with LRS.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Currently, low-amplitude songs have been identified in both vertebrates and invertebrates that rely on acoustic signals for intra-and intersexual communication; however, the terminology identifying low-amplitude songs has been inconsistent among taxa, making its overall prevalence difficult to assess (Dabelsteen et al 1998;Robinson and Hall 2002). In taxa that have been studied, including crickets (Zuk and Simmons 1997;Robinson and Hall 2002), songbirds (Dabelsteen et al 1998;Searcy and Beecher 2009), and at least one species of bat (Behr and von Helversen 2004), investigations have been predominantly observational and lacked rigorous tests of the function of lowamplitude song.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Deciphering Information Encoded in Birdsong: Male Songbirds with Fertile Mates Respond Most Strongly to Complex, Low-Amplitude Songs Used in Courtship

Reichard

Rice

Vanderbilt

et al. 2011

The American Naturalist

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JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. We compared responses of males whose mates were fertile or nonfertile with differences in song structure (SRS vs. LRS and soft LRS), amplitude (SRS and soft LRS vs. LRS), and tempo (slow SRS vs. fast SRS). Males responded more strongly to SRS than to LRS or soft LRS, indicating that song structure had a greater effect on response than song amplitude. SRS tempo did not detectably affect male response. Importantly, males responded more strongly to SRS when their mates were fertile, presumably because hearing SRS can indicate that a male's mate is being courted by an intruding male and a strong response can deter extrapair competitors. We conclude that lowamplitude songs can function in both inter-and intrasexual communication and should receive greater attention in future studies of mate choice and male-male competition.

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“…Quiet singing and calling is often used from relatively low positions and at times of the day where the level of the background noise is high (e.g. Dabelsteen et al 1998. Their relatively high frequencies and high degree of modulation, together with their broadband nature, make them sensitive to degradation factors (e.g.…”

Section: Private Signalingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategies that facilitate or counter eavesdropping on vocal interactions in songbirds

Dabelsteen

2004

An. Acad. Bras. Ciênc.

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Most territorial songbirds live in communication networks where eavesdropping on vocal interactions may constitute an important option for gathering information regarding the relative dominance, condition and quality of individuals being eavesdropped upon. The relatively low costs and risks of eavesdropping, together with the obvious advantages of gaining such comparative information about other individuals, predict eavesdropping to be a widespread phenomenon even though it is not necessarily advantageous for the participants to be eavesdropped upon. Special eavesdropper strategies that facilitate eavesdropping (how best to eavesdrop) may therefore have evolved together with strategies for interacting that either co-facilitate (public signaling) or counter eavesdropping directly (private signaling) or indirectly by preventing any subsequent negative consequences of being eavesdropped upon (anonymity). This paper reviews the predictions for the strategies and also gives examples supporting their use by territorial songbirds in connection with vocal interactions.

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Quiet Song in Song Birds: An Overlooked Phenomenon

Cited by 163 publications

References 27 publications

Acoustic communication in noise: regulation of call characteristics in a New World monkey

Acoustic communication in noise: regulation of call characteristics in a New World monkey

Deciphering Information Encoded in Birdsong: Male Songbirds with Fertile Mates Respond Most Strongly to Complex, Low-Amplitude Songs Used in Courtship

Strategies that facilitate or counter eavesdropping on vocal interactions in songbirds

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