scholarly journals Imitating the neighbours: vocal dialect matching in a mimic–model system

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A Putland ◽  
James A Nicholls ◽  
Michael J Noad ◽  
Anne W Goldizen
Keyword(s):  
Local Population ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Quantitative Evidence ◽  
Ptilonorhynchus Violaceus ◽  
Vocal Mimicry ◽  
Satin Bowerbird ◽  
Unique System ◽  
Ecological Relationship ◽  
Vocal Dialect ◽  
Southeast Queensland

Vocal mimicry provides a unique system for investigating song learning and cultural evolution in birds. Male lyrebirds produce complex vocal displays that include extensive and accurate mimicry of many other bird species. We recorded and analysed the songs of the Albert's lyrebird ( Menura alberti ) and its most commonly imitated model species, the satin bowerbird ( Ptilonorhynchus violaceus ), at six sites in southeast Queensland, Australia. We show that each population of lyrebirds faithfully reproduces the song of the local population of bowerbirds. Within a population, lyrebirds show less variation in song structure than the available variation in the songs of the models. These results provide the first quantitative evidence for dialect matching in the songs of two species that have no direct ecological relationship.

scholarly journals Female preferences drive the evolution of mimetic accuracy in male sexual displays

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 463-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seth William Coleman ◽  
Gail Lisa Patricelli ◽  
Brian Coyle ◽  
Jennifer Siani ◽  
Gerald Borgia
Keyword(s):  
Mating Success ◽  
Alternative Hypothesis ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Common Element ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Male Mating Success ◽  
Model Species ◽  
Ptilonorhynchus Violaceus ◽  
Vocal Mimicry ◽  
Male Display

Males in many bird species mimic the vocalizations of other species during sexual displays, but the evolutionary and functional significance of interspecific vocal mimicry is unclear. Here we use spectrographic cross-correlation to compare mimetic calls produced by male satin bowerbirds ( Ptilonorhynchus violaceus ) in courtship with calls from several model species. We show that the accuracy of vocal mimicry and the number of model species mimicked are both independently related to male mating success. Multivariate analyses revealed that these mimetic traits were better predictors of male mating success than other male display traits previously shown to be important for male mating success. We suggest that preference-driven mimetic accuracy may be a widespread occurrence, and that mimetic accuracy may provide females with important information about male quality. Our findings support an alternative hypothesis to help explain a common element of male sexual displays.

scholarly journals Seasonal changes in distribution and abundance of a local Corncrake population

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michał Budka ◽  
Patryk Kokociński ◽  
Paweł Bogawski ◽  
Maciej Nowak ◽  
Joanna Teresa Białas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Size ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Site Fidelity ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Habitat Conditions ◽  
Population Declines

Abstract Many bird species have experienced short- or long-term population declines. However, the mechanisms and reasons underlying such negative changes are often not fully understood, making it difficult to identify effective conservation measures to recover populations. In this study, we focused on local changes in the abundance and distribution of calling male Corncrakes Crex crex in relation to: (1) within- and between-season site fidelity of adult males, (2) spatial distribution of territories in consecutive years and (3) the effect of habitat conditions on population size. We counted the number of calling males at ten randomly selected study plots (1 km2) in 2014–2018. Additionally, males were caught and individually marked in years 2015–2017. We found significant between-year changes in Corncrake abundance, from a 34% decrease to a 21% increase. On average, 32% of males established territories in the same locations as males recorded in the previous year. Breeding site fidelity was very low, with only 2–5% of males recaptured in the following year. Males selected areas characterized by higher values of NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index–higher values indicate more biomass) than on average within the study area. Population size in a particular year was significantly affected by the NDVI of the previous year but not by the NDVI in the current breeding season. We suppose that Corncrakes may exhibit a nomadic breeding behavior, and settle at territories when they encounter optimal habitat conditions. Moreover, as population size was negatively correlated with habitat conditions at the beginning of the previous breeding season, we suppose that local population changes may reflect more general trends in a whole population rather than local breeding success. Therefore, we highlight the need for better knowledge of Corncrake dispersal within the main European population and for the coordination of monitoring and conservation efforts, especially in those regions where most Corncrakes breed.

scholarly journals Variation in Demography and Life-History Strategies Across the Range of a Declining Mountain Bird Species

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnaud G. Barras ◽  
Sébastien Blache ◽  
Michael Schaub ◽  
Raphaël Arlettaz
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Adult Survival ◽  
Northwestern Part ◽  
European Alps ◽  
Demographic Processes

Species- and population-specific responses to their environment may depend to a large extent on the spatial variation in life-history traits and in demographic processes of local population dynamics. Yet, those parameters and their variability remain largely unknown for many cold-adapted species, which are exposed to particularly rapid rates of environmental change. Here, we compared the demographic traits and dynamics for an emblematic bird species of European mountain ecosystems, the ring ouzel (Turdus torquatus). Using integrated population models fitted in a Bayesian framework, we estimated the survival probability, productivity and immigration of two populations from the Western European Alps, in France (over 11 years) and Switzerland (over 6 years). Juvenile apparent survival was lower and immigration rate higher in the Swiss compared to the French population, with the temporal variation in population growth rate driven by different demographic processes. Yet, when compared to populations in the northwestern part of the range, in Scotland, these two Alpine populations both showed a much lower productivity and higher adult survival, indicating a slower life-history strategy. Our results suggest that demographic characteristics can substantially vary across the discontinuous range of this passerine species, essentially due to contrasted, possibly locally evolved life-history strategies. This study therefore raises the question of whether flexibility in life-history traits is widespread among boreo-alpine species and if it might provide adaptive potential for coping with current environmental change.

scholarly journals Behavioral Paternity Predicts Genetic Paternity in Satin Bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchus Violaceus), A Species With a Non-Resource-Based Mating System

The Auk ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 124 (3) ◽  
pp. 857-867 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheila M. Reynolds ◽  
Katie Dryer ◽  
Jonathan Bollback ◽  
J. Albert C. Uy ◽  
Gail L. Patricelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Mating Behavior ◽  
Mating Success ◽  
Behavioral Observation ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Male Mating Success ◽  
Video Cameras ◽  
Ptilonorhynchus Violaceus ◽  
Satin Bowerbird ◽  
Satin Bowerbirds

Abstract The potential for differences between genetic paternity and paternity inferred from behavioral observation has long been recognized. These differences are associated with the challenge for females of seeking both genetic and material benefits; this challenge is less severe in species with polygynous, non-resource-based mating systems (such as leks) than in those with resource-based systems. We present the first study of paternity patterns in a non-resource-based species that does not form true leks. We compared paternity inferred from observed mating behavior to genetically assigned paternity in the Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus) using eight microsatellite markers. Mating behavior was observed and recorded via automated video-cameras positioned at all bowers (29–34 bowers each year) in the study site throughout each mating season. We obtained blood samples and identified mothers for 11 chicks in 9 nests. For all chicks, the most likely genetic father had been observed to mate with the mother in the year the chick was sampled. All most likely genetic fathers were assigned with high confidence and all were bower-holding males. These results demonstrate that genetic paternity can be inferred from observed mating behavior with reasonable confidence in Satin Bowerbirds. Observed male mating-success is therefore a reliable predictor of reproductive success, and this suggests that high skew in observed male mating-success translates directly to high skew in reproductive success. La Paternidad Comportamental Predice la Paternidad Genética en Ptilonorhynchus violaceus, una Especie con un Sistema de Apareamiento que No Está Basado en los Recursos

Isolation of polymorphic tetranucleotide microsatellite markers in the satin bowerbird, Ptilonorhynchus violaceus

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
CAROLYNE BARDELEBEN ◽  
RACHAEL L. MOORE ◽  
JAMES A. NICHOLLS ◽  
JEREMY J. AUSTIN ◽  
TIMOTHY E. ROBSON
Keyword(s):  
Microsatellite Markers ◽  
Ptilonorhynchus Violaceus ◽  
Satin Bowerbird

The dynamics and conservation of a spatially subdivided avian population in a fragmented landscape

2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary W. Luck
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Fragmented Landscape ◽  
Population Growth Rates ◽  
Local Populations ◽  
Subdivided Population ◽  
Subdivided Populations

Many bird species have declined in abundance in the agricultural regions of southern Australia, The mechanisms underlying these declines and the viability of the remaining populations are largely unknown, A number of species exist as spatially subdivided populations in heavily fragmented landscapes. Metapopulation and source-sink theory have influenced thinking on the dynamics of subdivided populations, but the general applicability of these theories is uncertain. I examined the dynamics of a subdivided population of the Rufous Treecreeper Climacteris ruta, a declining woodland passerine, occupying a fragmented, agricultural landscape in southwestern Australia. I determined if local populations could replace themselves without immigration and estimated population growth rates for the periods 1998-1999 and 1999-2000. I also examined the influence of movement between local populations on the viability of the entire subdivided population. Out of four geographically defined local populations, only one was above replacement, and only in one year of the study. Fledgling productivity and recruitment in the remainder were not sufficient to compensate for breeding female mortality. Long-term population growth estimates were <1 for all local populations, but variability in demographic rates suggested that the status of these populations may fluctuate over time. Also, there appeared to be sufficient movement between local populations, and into the study area from nearby habitat remnants, to slow or halt any decline in local population size, Within- and between-local-population processes appeared to be important to the viability of the treecreeper population during the two years of the study, and this is consistent with the general principles of metapopulation theory. I compared the dynamics of the treecreeper population occupying the fragmented landscape with one occupying a continuously wooded landscape and found that the latter had population growth rates >1, suggesting it may be an important population source and vital to the regional viability of the species.

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