Vocal activity rate index: a useful method to infer terrestrial bird abundance with acoustic monitoring

Pérez‐Granados, Cristian; Bota, Gérard; Giralt, David; Barrero, Adrián; Gómez‐Catasús, Julia; Rosa, Daniel Bustillo-de la; Traba, Juán

doi:10.1111/ibi.12728

Cited by 49 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(64 reference statements)

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“…The use of automated recorders has revolutionized the way we understand soundscapes and the way we monitor vocally active wildlife species (see review in Sugai, Silva, Ribeiro, & Llusia, ). Automated recorders can be used to detect species’ presence, monitor wildlife abundance (Pérez‐Granados, Bota, et al, ; Terry, Peake, & McGregor, ) and detect changes at community and landscape level (Burivalova et al, ; Pijanowski, Farina, Gage, Dumyahn, & Krause, ). That transformation has produced remarkable results for monitoring secretive species and for those that are active under challenging circumstances, such as at night and at sites that are inhospitable or difficult to access, such as forests or wetlands (Celis‐Murillo, Deppe, & Ward, ; Deichmann et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vocal behavior of the Undulated Tinamou (Crypturellus undulatus) over an annual cycle in the Brazilian Pantanal: New ecological information

2019

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Tinamous (Tinamidae) are a group of Neotropical birds for which little information is available. The Undulated Tinamou (Crypturellus undulatus) is one of the most widespread species but also declining. Due to its secretive habits, ecological knowledge regarding the species relies on few anecdotal descriptions. We used automated recorders to monitor the vocal activity of the species over an annual cycle at four sites in the Brazilian Pantanal. We provide a description and analyze the diel and seasonal patterns of the calling activity in this species and provide new ecological information. The daily cycle showed two significant peaks in calling activity during the early morning and late afternoon, in agreement with the vocal behavior common among tinamous. The species was vocally active throughout the year, but it was significantly higher during September-October and March. This suggests that the breeding period of the Undulated Tinamou in the Brazilian Pantanal extends from September to April.After the months with highest calling activity, there was a strong decrease in activity, which might be related to the silent behavior of male tinamous during incubation. The seasonal pattern and breeding period identified for the Undulated Tinamou in the Brazilian Pantanal are in agreement with those observed in previous studies carried out with other Crypturellus species. The use of automated recorders was found to be a useful method for monitoring the calling activity of this secretive group of birds and might be useful in the assessment of future population trends in this and other declining tinamous.Abstract in Portugese is available with online material.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vocal behavior of the Undulated Tinamou (Crypturellus undulatus) over an annual cycle in the Brazilian Pantanal: New ecological information

2019

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“…Among them, Pérez‐Granados et al. () found that the species‐specific recognizer used in our study detected only 63% of the songs of Dupont's Larks in a recording. Therefore, transient males singing at low rates in our study may not have been detected by acoustic monitoring.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

Testing the conspecific attraction hypothesis with Dupont's Larks, a resident species of songbird in central Spain

Pérez‐Granados

Traba

2019

J. Field Ornithol.

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Some birds use social cues, such as the presence of conspecifics, when selecting breeding habitat. This phenomenon, known as conspecific attraction, has been well-documented in migratory species, but has not been assessed for resident species of birds. We used Dupont's Larks (Chersophilus duponti) as a model species to determine if conspecific attraction plays a role in habitat selection by resident species of birds. At our study site in Soria province in central Spain, we monitored two potential habitat patches and one managed site where management actions had provided apparently suitable habitat. At each site, we broadcast recordings of the songs and calls of male Dupont's Larks, and monitored their presence during the breeding season and dispersal period in 2018 using automated recorders and field surveys. No birds were attracted to our study sites. Our results suggest that management of patches of suitable habitat should occur close to areas (within 1 km) already occupied by Dupont's Larks to encourage natural colonization because, based on our results, playback of conspecific vocalizations may not attract the species to new breeding areas. However, additional studies are needed before drawing conclusions about the effectiveness of conspecific attraction for this and other resident species of birds. RESUMEN. Poniendo a prueba la hip otesis de atracci on conespec ıfica con el ave canora residente del centro de España, Chersophilus duponti. Algunas aves utilizan pistas sociales, tales como la presencia de conespec ıficos, cuando seleccionan el h abitat de cr ıa. Este fen omeno, llamado atracci on conespec ıfica, ha sido muy bien documentado en especies migratorias, pero no ha sido evaluado en especies de aves residentes. Utilizamos la Alondra de Dupont (Chersophilus duponti), como especies modelo para determinar si la atracci on de conespec ıficos juega un rol en la selecci on de h abitat de especies residentes. En nuestro lugar de estudio, la provincia de Soria en la parte central de España, monitorizamos dos parches dos parches de h abitat potencial, parche donde las acciones de manejo proveyeron de h abitat aparentemente adecuado. En cada localidad, emitimos grabaciones del canto y llamadas de las alondras, y monitorizamos su presencia durante la epoca de reproducci on y el periodo de dispersi on del 2018, utilizando grabadores autom aticos y censos de campo. Ninguna alondra fue atra ıda a nuestros resultados sugieren que el manejo de parches de h abitat adecuados debe llevarse a cabo en lugares cercanos a areas (dentro de un km) actualmente ocupadas por la pecie para favorecer la colonizaci on de las mismas, ya que seg un nuestros resultados, el uso de grabaciones de conespec ıficos pudiera no atraer individuos a areas nuevas en donde estos puedan reproducirse. Sin embargo, se necesitan estudios adicionales antes de poder concluir sobre la efectividad de la atracci on conespec ıfica, para esta y otras especies de aves residentes.

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“…3 ). Low-quality microphone recordings can also be used together with high-quality recordings when accounting explicitly for the different detectabilities (e.g., with occupancy modeling approaches), or for the relationship between vocal activity rate and bird abundance ( Pérez-Granados et al, 2019a ; Pérez-Granados et al, 2019b ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, in ecoacoustics, little attention has been paid to the microphone specifications. Some studies have evaluated the effectiveness of different recorder types for birds ( Rempel et al, 2013 ; Pérez-Granados et al, 2019a ; Pérez-Granados et al, 2019b ) and bats ( Adams et al, 2012 ), and it has been reported that a recording system with the lowest SNR detected the least birds ( Rempel et al, 2013 ). Finally, Bardeli et al (2010) mentioned that automated detection of animal sounds could be impeded by worn microphones.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High microphone signal-to-noise ratio enhances acoustic sampling of wildlife

Darras

Deppe

Fabian

et al. 2020

PeerJ

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Background Automated sound recorders are a popular sampling tool in ecology. However, the microphones themselves received little attention so far, and specifications that determine the recordings’ sound quality are seldom mentioned. Here, we demonstrate the importance of microphone signal-to-noise ratio for sampling sonant animals. Methods We tested 12 different microphone models in the field and measured their signal-to-noise ratios and detection ranges. We also measured the vocalisation activity of birds and bats that they recorded, the bird species richness, the bat call types richness, as well as the performance of automated detection of bird and bat calls. We tested the relationship of each one of these measures with signal-to-noise ratio in statistical models. Results Microphone signal-to-noise ratio positively affects the sound detection space areas, which increased by a factor of 1.7 for audible sound, and 10 for ultrasound, from the lowest to the highest signal-to-noise ratio microphone. Consequently, the sampled vocalisation activity increased by a factor of 1.6 for birds, and 9.7 for bats. Correspondingly, the species pool of birds and bats could not be completely detected by the microphones with lower signal-to-noise ratio. The performance of automated detection of bird and bat calls, as measured by its precision and recall, increased significantly with microphone signal-to-noise ratio. Discussion Microphone signal-to-noise ratio is a crucial characteristic of a sound recording system, positively affecting the acoustic sampling performance of birds and bats. It should be maximised by choosing appropriate microphones, and be quantified independently, especially in the ultrasound range.

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Vocal activity rate index: a useful method to infer terrestrial bird abundance with acoustic monitoring

Cited by 49 publications

References 30 publications

Vocal behavior of the Undulated Tinamou (Crypturellus undulatus) over an annual cycle in the Brazilian Pantanal: New ecological information

Vocal behavior of the Undulated Tinamou (Crypturellus undulatus) over an annual cycle in the Brazilian Pantanal: New ecological information

Testing the conspecific attraction hypothesis with Dupont's Larks, a resident species of songbird in central Spain

High microphone signal-to-noise ratio enhances acoustic sampling of wildlife

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