An official website of the United States government
ABSTRACT Individually distinctive vocalizations are widespread in nature, although the ability of receivers to discriminate these signals has only been explored through limited taxonomic and social lenses. Here, we asked whether anuran advertisement calls, typically studied for their role in territory defense and mate attraction, facilitate recognition and preferential association with partners in a pair-bonding poison frog (Ranitomeya imitator). Combining no- and two-stimulus choice playback experiments, we evaluated behavioral responses of females to male acoustic stimuli. Virgin females oriented to and approached speakers broadcasting male calls independent of caller identity, implying that females are generally attracted to male acoustic stimuli outside the context of a pair bond. When pair-bonded females were presented with calls of a mate and a stranger, they showed significant preference for calls of their mate. Moreover, behavioral responses varied with breeding status: females with eggs were faster to approach stimuli than females that were pair bonded but did not currently have eggs. Our study suggests a potential role for individual vocal recognition in the formation and maintenance of pair bonds in a poison frog and raises new questions about how acoustic signals are perceived in the context of monogamy and biparental care.
more »
« less
Temporary Behavioral Responses to Playbacks by a Pest Parrot and Implications for Management
Human-wildlife interactions continue to increase due to anthropogenic disturbances, with some interactions resulting in conflict. Leveraging a taxa’s bias for a particular sensory cue is a promising management avenue for reducing the potential and realized negative consequences of human-wildlife conflict. For instance, many avian species heavily depend on acoustic communication, and acoustic cues can provide opportunities to reduce conflict with various avian species. The monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) is a gregarious parrot native to South America that has established populations worldwide and is considered an urban and agricultural pest in parts of its native and introduced ranges. We conducted playback experiments with a captive population of monk parakeets to evaluate auditory cues that may be useful for designing management protocols. Our experiment evaluated the efficacy of two stimuli: predator vocalizations as potential repulsion and conspecific vocalizations as potential attraction stimuli for parakeets. We measured two responses: (1) categorical group-level behavioral responses and (2) time to cease vigilance and return to behavior prior to playback. In the repulsion playbacks, monk parakeets were repelled by predator vocalizations in 80% of trials and took longer to cease vigilance and return to baseline behavior compared to attraction playbacks. In the attraction playbacks, monk parakeets exhibited vigilant behavior and weak or no attraction to the stimulus, with attraction only being observed in 10% of trials. Our results demonstrate that predator playbacks may be particularly useful for completing management objectives, such as temporary removal from a location.
more »
« less
- PAR ID:
- 10385959
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Animal Behavior and Cognition
- Volume:
- 9
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 2372-5052
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 363 to 384
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Many avian species are negatively impacted by obligate avian brood parasites, which lay their eggs in the nests of host species. The yellow warbler (Setophaga petechia), which is host to the brood-parasitic brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater), represents one of the best-replicated study systems assessing antiparasitic host defenses. Over 15 prior studies on yellow warblers have used model-presentation experiments, whereby breeding hosts are exposed to models of brown-headed cowbirds or other nest threats, to test for anti-parasitic defenses unique to this species. Here we present results from our own quasi-replication study of the yellow warbler/brown-headed cowbird system, which used a novel design compared to previous experiments by pivoting to conduct acoustic playback treatments only, rather than presenting visual models with or without calls. We exposed active yellow warbler nests to playbacks of brown-headed cowbird chatters (brood parasite), blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata; nest predator) calls, conspecific “seet” calls (a referential alarm call for brood parasitism risk), conspecific “chip” calls (a generic alarm call), or control wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina; harmless heterospecific) songs during the incubation stage. Similar to previous studies, we found that female yellow warblers seet called more frequently in response to playbacks of both brood parasitic chatter calls and conspecific seet calls whereas they produced more chip calls in response to the playback of nest predator calls. In contrast, female yellow warblers approached all playbacks to similar distances, which was different from the proximity patterns seen in previous studies. Our study demonstrates the importance of both replicating, and also pivoting, experimental studies on nest defense behaviors, as differences in experimental design can elicit novel behavioral response patterns in the same species.more » « less
-
Coleman, Melissa J. (Ed.)Although male vocalizations during opposite- sex interaction have been heavily studied as sexually selected signals, the understanding of the roles of female vocal signals produced in this context is more limited. During intersexual interactions between mice, males produce a majority of ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs), while females produce a majority of human-audible squeaks, also called broadband vocalizations (BBVs). BBVs may be produced in conjunction with defensive aggression, making it difficult to assess whether males respond to BBVs themselves. To assess the direct effect of BBVs on male behavior, we used a split-cage paradigm in which high rates of male USVs were elicited by female presence on the other side of a barrier, but which precluded extensive male-female contact and the spontaneous production of BBVs. In this paradigm, playback of female BBVs decreased USV production, which recovered after the playback period. Trials in which female vocalizations were prevented by the use of female bedding alone or of anesthetized females as stimuli also showed a decrease in response to BBV playback. No non-vocal behaviors declined during playback, although digging behavior increased. Similar to BBVs, WNs also robustly suppressed USV production, albeit to a significantly larger extent. USVs suppression had two distinct temporal components. When grouped in 5-second bins, USVs interleaved with bursts of stimulus BBVs. USV suppression also adapted to BBV playback on the order of minutes. Adaptation occurred more rapidly in males that were housed individually as opposed to socially for a week prior to testing, suggesting that the adaptation trajectory is sensitive to social experience. These findings suggest the possibility that vocal interaction between male and female mice, with males suppressing USVs in response to BBVs, may influence the dynamics of communicative behavior.more » « less
-
Abstract Humans have a particularly strong connection with birds, driving the enormous popularity of residential bird feeding in much of the world.We conducted a web search to document US state wildlife management agency responses to two recent avian disease outbreaks, finding that 23 agencies made recommendations to cease feeding wild birds in 2021–2022.The psychological benefits of bird feeding for humans are well‐documented but often overlooked in management decisions in response to avian disease outbreaks.Likewise, ecological evidence does not necessarily support ceasing bird feeding to reduce the spread of every avian disease.Ecological and social science need to be applied in tandem to ensure that well‐intended guidance to cease feeding of birds does not have unintended consequences.more » « less
-
Some individuals respond to new objects, foods, or environments with wariness (neophobia), whereas others are willing to approach and explore. Because novel stimuli can represent both dangers and resources, group-living species may show adaptive plasticity in neophobia in response to social cues. To better understand how conspecific calls can influence neophobia in a highly gregarious species, we exposed individual house sparrows (Passer domesticus) to either conspecific alarm calls (n = 12), conspecific contact calls (n = 12), or no playback (n = 12) and measured latency to feed in the presence of novel objects. We also measured novelty responses with no sound the week before and after the sound treatment week for all individuals. Relative to no playback and contact calls, we predicted that conspecific alarm calls would increase neophobia behavior during the acoustic trial and that these effects would persist the week after exposure. Instead, we found that individuals in the contact call and no playback groups became less neophobic as weeks progressed, while the alarm call group showed no attenuation of neophobia. There was a significant interaction between week and treatment, where neophobia responses over the three weeks were significantly different for individuals exposed to alarm calls compared to the contact and no playback groups combined. These results suggest that house sparrows learn social information about potentially threatening stimuli from conspecific alarm calls; here, that novel objects may be dangerous.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.26451/abc.09.04.01.2022
