Song adjustments by an open habitat bird to anthropogenic noise, urban structure, and vegetation

Job, Jacob R.; Kohler, Steve; Gill, Sharon A.

doi:10.1093/beheco/arw105

Cited by 24 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…The magnitude of difference in minimum song frequency (> 500 Hz) observed between glasshouse and farm birds is similar to that shown for other bird species between urban and more rural environments (Slabbekoorn and Peet , Fernández‐Juricic et al , Brumm and Slater , Mockford and Marshall , Luther and Baptista , Slabbekoorn , Derryberry et al , Job et al ). If vocal variation in these studies has emerged via similar processes to those in our study, then our findings indicate that such differences can arise in under 14 yr. Luther and Baptista () have previously detected differences in the minimum song frequency (~250 Hz) of white crowned sparrows exposed to increasing levels of urban noise over a 30‐yr period.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…Noise pollution and the introduction of novel infrastructure impose selective pressures on vocal properties by altering the way in which sound propagates through the environment (Rabin et al ). Several studies have shown that birds in noisy environments sing songs that differ from those of conspecifics in quieter habitats (Slabbekoorn and Peet , Fernández‐Juricic et al , Brumm and Slater , Luther and Baptista , Slabbekoorn , Derryberry et al , Job et al ). The physical habitat (that absorbs and reflects different wavelengths of sound), as opposed to noise per se has also been indicated as a factor associated with signal efficacy (Dabelsteen et al , Kirschel et al , Mockford et al , Kight et al ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Singing under glass: rapid effects of anthropogenic habitat modification on song and response behaviours in an isolated house sparrow Passer domesticus population

Sheldon

Ironside

Marshall

2020

Journal of Avian Biology

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Anthropogenic noise pollution and the introduction of novel infrastructure can impose strong selective pressures on avian communication by affecting the efficacy with which acoustic signals are transmitted and received. Many species have now been shown to sing at higher frequencies in noisy urban environments. However, few studies have investigated the effects of signal modification on the response behaviours of receivers, and fewer still have been able to indicate the timescale over which these changes in pitch have occurred. We compare vocal communication between house sparrows Passer domesticus that reside within the world's largest, single‐span glasshouse (completed in the year 2000), and house sparrows directly outside this glasshouse, in open farmland. The glasshouse contrasts both acoustically and physically with the external environment, low frequency background noise being significantly louder inside than outside. We show that minimum song frequency was significantly higher inside the glasshouse than in surrounding farm habitat. Using song playback, we also found that birds within the glasshouse reacted more strongly to playbacks from the glasshouse habitat than they did to playback of song from farm birds outside. The degree of difference in frequency is similar to that shown for other bird species between urban and rural environments, demonstrating that such behavioural differences may arise over a relatively short time period (14 yr in this case).

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Singing under glass: rapid effects of anthropogenic habitat modification on song and response behaviours in an isolated house sparrow Passer domesticus population

Sheldon

Ironside

Marshall

2020

Journal of Avian Biology

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“…Birds adjust not only pitch but also many other features of song to urban noise levels, but the functional consequences of these changes remains poorly resolved. A loss of bandwidth due to changes in minimum but not maximum frequency in noisy areas has been reported in many species 11 , 20 . Northern cardinals ( Cardinalis cardinalis ) and gray catbirds ( Dumetella carolinensis ) show a reduced bandwidth from changes in both minimum and maximum frequencies with increasing levels of noise 19 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Urban sparrows respond to a sexually selected trait with increased aggression in noise

Phillips

Derryberry

2018

Sci Rep

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Animals modify acoustic communication signals in response to noise pollution, but consequences of these modifications are unknown. Vocalizations that transmit best in noise may not be those that best signal male quality, leading to potential conflict between selection pressures. For example, slow paced, narrow bandwidth songs transmit better in noise but are less effective in mate choice and competition than fast paced, wide bandwidth songs. We test the hypothesis that noise affects response to song pace and bandwidth in the context of competition using white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys). We measure male response to song variation along a gradient of ambient noise levels in San Francisco, CA. We find that males discriminate between wide and narrow bandwidth songs but not between slow and fast paced songs. These findings are biologically relevant because songs in noisy areas tend to have narrow bandwidths. Therefore, this song phenotype potentially increases transmission distance in noise, but elicits weaker responses from competitors. Further, we find that males respond more strongly to stimuli in noisier conditions, supporting the ‘urban anger’ hypothesis. We suggest that noise affects male responsiveness to song, possibly leading to more territorial conflict in urban areas.

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“…The continuing publication of potential measuring artefacts may, at least partly, be due to the fact that researchers are still being encouraged to eye-ball acoustic parameters from spectrograms (e.g. Cardoso & Atwell 2012;Job, Kohler & Gill 2016;Narango & Rodewald 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measurement artefacts lead to false positives in the study of birdsong in noise

et al. 2017

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Summary Numerous studies over the past decade have reported correlations between elevated levels of anthropogenic noise and a rise in the minimum frequency of acoustic signals of animals living in noisy habitats. This pattern appears to be occurring globally, and higher pitched signals have been hypothesized to be adaptive changes that reduce masking by low‐frequency traffic noise. However, the sound analysis methods most often used in these studies are prone to measurement errors that can result in false positives. In addition, the commonly used method of measuring frequencies visually from spectrograms might also lead to observer‐expectancy biases that could exacerbate measurement errors. We conducted an experiment to (i) quantify the size and type of errors that result from ‘eye‐balling’ frequency measurements with cursors placed manually on spectrograms of signals recorded in noise and no‐noise conditions, and (ii) to test whether observer expectations lead to significant errors in frequency measurements. We asked 54 volunteers, blind to the true intention of our study, to visually measure the minimum frequency of a variety of natural and synthesized bird sounds, recorded either in noise, or no‐noise conditions. Test subjects were either informed or uninformed about the hypothesized results of the measurements. Our results demonstrate that inappropriate methodology in acoustic analysis can yield false positives with effect sizes as large, or even larger, than those reported in published studies. In addition to these measurement artefacts, psychological observer biases also led to false positives – when observers expected signals to have higher minimum frequencies in noise, they measured significantly higher minimum frequencies than uninformed observers, who had not been primed with any expectation. The use of improper analysis methods in bioacoustics can lead to the publication of spurious results. We discuss alternative methods that yield unbiased frequency measures and we caution that it is imperative for researchers to familiarize themselves both with the functions and limitations of their sound analysis programmes. In addition, observer‐expectancy biases are a potential source of error not only in the field of bioacoustics, but in any situation where measurements can be influenced by human subjectivity.

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Song adjustments by an open habitat bird to anthropogenic noise, urban structure, and vegetation

Cited by 24 publications

References 65 publications

Singing under glass: rapid effects of anthropogenic habitat modification on song and response behaviours in an isolated house sparrow Passer domesticus population

Singing under glass: rapid effects of anthropogenic habitat modification on song and response behaviours in an isolated house sparrow Passer domesticus population

Urban sparrows respond to a sexually selected trait with increased aggression in noise

Measurement artefacts lead to false positives in the study of birdsong in noise

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