Article
Behavioral Sciences
Jakub Szymkowiak
Summary: Experimental evidence shows that wild birds can learn to recognize novel heterospecific mobbing calls through interspecific social learning, and retain the learned recognition for at least 2 weeks. This mechanism is common among bird species, facilitating the rapid cultural transmission of novel antipredator signal recognition within avian communities.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Yuxin Jiang, Jingru Han, Canchao Yang
Summary: Birds can adjust their behavior based on sound cues, and parent-offspring communication through acoustics can enhance survival. Chicks are capable of eavesdropping on both conspecific and heterospecific mobbing alarm calls, and the similarity in alarm call acoustics and eavesdropping behavior contributes to the reduction of predation risk.
Article
Zoology
M. Dutour, A. R. Ridley, C. Randler
Summary: Domestic chickens are able to perceive urgency information in alarm calls produced by sympatric and allopatric species, but cannot discriminate between alarm and control sounds, and simply respond to specific sound characteristics of each stimulus.
JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Cameron Rouse Turner, Matt Spike, Robert D. Magrath
Summary: Interceptive eavesdropping on heterospecific alarm calls provides crucial information about predators. Previous research suggests that factors such as predator discrimination, call relevance, reliability, and reception play a role in the evolution of eavesdropping. However, there has been a lack of quantitative analysis on these principles and their interactions. In this study, a mathematical framework is developed to formalize the key principles involved in eavesdropping and examine the conditions under which eavesdropping is favored.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Chaminda P. Ratnayake, You Zhou, Francesca S. E. Dawson Pell, Dominique A. Potvin, Andrew N. Radford, Robert D. Magrath
Summary: The study found that Australian magpies rely more on social information, specifically alarm calls, when personal visual information is reduced. The presence of visual barriers significantly influenced the response to alarm calls, while moderate traffic noise did not have an effect.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Fisheries
Alex R. Seigel, Isabel G. DeVriendt, Madisen C. Strand, Ananda Shastri, Brian D. Wisenden
Summary: Honey gouramis are able to recognize and respond to chemical alarm cues, attempting to flee and find refuge. Additionally, they can associate predation risk with vocalizations from other species.
JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Denis Goncharov, Richard Policht, Lucie Hambalkova, Viktor Salovarov, Vlastimil Hart
Summary: The study found individual variation in wideband alarms and whistle alarms of the long-tailed ground squirrel, demonstrating the presence of individual characteristics in both types of alarm calls. This discovery opens up new possibilities for research in the field of psychology.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Zoology
Yuxin Jiang, Jingru Han, Ziqi Zhang, Xiangyang Chen, Canchao Yang
Summary: Distress calls, as a type of alarm call, are crucial in conveying risk and the condition of chicks, enhancing individual fitness. Eavesdropping on distress calls is a congenital behavior that begins in the chick stage, and can lead to quicker responses to heterospecific distress calls.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Jakub Szymkowiak
Summary: The study investigated the alarm call eavesdropping networks of wood warblers in temperate European forests, finding that individual birds are interconnected across territory borders into population-wide information webs, allowing risk-related information to spread across large spatial scales.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Mylene Dutour, Samara Danel
Summary: The study found that free-range chickens exhibit increased vigilance when confronted with alarm calls from wild birds, showing their ability to respond to heterospecific signals. This finding may have significant implications for free-range poultry production in reducing mortality due to predation.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
D. G. E. Gomes, C. A. Toth, H. J. Cole, C. D. Francis, J. R. Barber
Summary: The study reveals that birds and bats avoid whitewater river noise, with intense noise reducing bird foraging activity and causing bats to switch hunting strategies. The overlap between noise and song frequency predicts bird declines until high levels where other mechanisms appear important.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Piotr Klosinski, Jaroslaw Kobak, Mateusz Augustyniak, Roman Pawlak, Lukasz Jermacz, Malgorzata Poznanska-Kakareko, Tomasz Kakareko
Summary: The study found that the monkey goby and native gudgeon have different responses to damage-released alarm cues, possibly due to their different anti-predation strategies. In addition, the results suggest that alien species should be included in the interspecific exchange of information in local fish assemblages.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Callum F. McLellan, Nicholas E. Scott-Samuel, Innes C. Cuthill
Summary: The conspicuous warning signal of aposematic animals is learned by predators, benefiting both parties. Birds can distinguish the profitability of prey from environmental context, suggesting that aposematic insects' host plants provide important cues for foraging predators. The host plant's features act as an extended phenotype that signals the toxicity of the prey, facilitating the evolution of toxicity in non-signaling prey and inhibiting the evolution of aposematic signals.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Yingtong Wu, Anna L. Petrosky, Nicolas A. Hazzi, Rebecca Lynn Woodward, Luis Sandoval
Summary: This study examined the recognition of distress calls by tropical rainforest birds, finding that acoustic similarity, learning, and phylogenetic relatedness play important roles in distress call recognition. Familiarity, acoustic similarity, and phylogenetic relatedness all contribute to how birds respond to distress calls.
Article
Ecology
Shelby L. Lawson, Janice K. Enos, Sharon A. Gill, Mark E. Hauber
Summary: Referential alarm calls are common in diverse vertebrate lineages, signaling specific types of dangers that necessitate specific responses. Red-winged blackbirds have been shown to respond to yellow warbler anti-parasitic referential calls in line with their own risk of brood parasitism, demonstrating a flexible frontline defense strategy against this threat.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Ian Bool, Matthew Slaymaker, Robert D. Magrath, Arthur Arfian, Adi Karya, Kangkuso Analuddin, Stephanie K. Courtney Jones
Summary: The acoustic behavior of Sulawesi bear cuscus includes a combination of 'chatter' and 'clicks', with the former composed of four notes given at short, regular intervals and the latter given at longer and irregular intervals. These sounds are non-vocal and are produced by the mouth or tongue rather than by the larynx.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Anastasia H. Dalziell, Alex C. Maisey, Robert D. Magrath, Justin A. Welbergen
Summary: Male superb lyrebirds create elaborate acoustic illusions to deceive avian receivers and prevent premature termination of crucial sexual interactions by females, thus triggering an intersexual co-evolutionary arms race between male mimetic accuracy and female discrimination. This suggests that the development of complex avian vocalizations known as 'song' may be driven by sexual conflict rather than female preference for male extravagance.
Article
Ecology
Fiona Backhouse, Anastasia H. Dalziell, Robert D. Magrath, Aaron N. Rice, Taylor L. Crisologo, Justin A. Welbergen
Summary: This study quantifies geographic variation in the whistle song of Albert's lyrebirds in Australia, finding that differences between populations are mainly in the introductory elements and song body rather than the final element. These findings provide important insights into evolutionary pressures and conservation of cultural diversity.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Charmaine P. E. Schou, Alexis L. Levengood, Dominique A. Potvin
Summary: The study found that anthropogenic noise may impact species' responses to acoustic signals, even when the signals are not acoustically masked, potentially leading to consequences for mating behaviors and population outcomes.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Chaminda P. Ratnayake, You Zhou, Francesca S. E. Dawson Pell, Dominique A. Potvin, Andrew N. Radford, Robert D. Magrath
Summary: The study found that Australian magpies rely more on social information, specifically alarm calls, when personal visual information is reduced. The presence of visual barriers significantly influenced the response to alarm calls, while moderate traffic noise did not have an effect.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Anastasia H. Dalziell, Justin A. Welbergen, Robert D. Magrath
Summary: The research reveals that male superb lyrebirds mimic functionally distinct heterospecific vocalizations during different modes of courtship, suggesting that the evolution and maintenance of avian vocal displays are more complex than previously thought.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Pawel Rek, Robert D. Magrath
Summary: Many group-living animals use complex displays to signal alliance cohesion or quality. This study on Australian magpie-larks found that partners with similar wing lengths were more stable and efficient in cooperative territorial defense. The researchers also discovered that duet displays with matching movements were more threatening, particularly when the amplitude of wing movement matched. Movement matching during cooperative displays enhances communication efficacy and may be influenced by the similarity in size of signaling structures.
Article
Biology
Fiona Backhouse, Anastasia H. Dalziell, Robert D. Magrath, Justin A. Welbergen
Summary: Most studies on acoustic communication have focused on short vocalization units, but little is known about the drivers of sequence structure. In this study, we investigate the organization, transmission, and function of vocal sequences in Albert's lyrebirds. We found that individual males organized their vocal units into stereotyped sequences, which were shared within and among populations, suggesting social transmission. Furthermore, the sequence structure was found to enhance the receiver's perception of repertoire complexity.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biology
Pawel Rek, Robert D. Magrath
Summary: The spatial distribution of cooperating individuals plays a strategic role in territorial interactions and group cohesion of many animals. Vocalizations and movements are important cues for judging the distribution of signallers. This study provides insight into the role of audio-visual perception in natural interactions, specifically in the Australian magpie-lark. The results show that birds rely primarily on acoustic cues, but also use visual cues when auditory and visual separations are incongruent.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Fiona Backhouse, Justin A. Welbergen, Robert D. Magrath, Anastasia H. Dalziell
Summary: Conservation efforts have recently expanded to include behavioral or cultural diversity, which has added significant value to conservation. This study explores the relationship between habitat availability and mimetic abilities and song composition in Albert's lyrebirds. The results suggest that smaller habitat patches or areas with a lower proportion of suitable habitat result in fewer mimicked species and vocalization types, but individuals in disturbed habitats may compensate by mimicking more vocalizations from each species. This study supports the hypothesis that cultural diversity may be negatively impacted by habitat loss and fragmentation.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2023)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Clancy A. Hall, Dominique A. Potvin, Gabriel C. Conroy
Summary: The ability to monitor avian embryos and their associated vascular system via candling is important for reproductive management. Thick or opaque egg shells of some species limit the use of traditional candling methods. This study tests a novel method to prepare and observe thick-shelled or opaque eggs, which has potential applications in population management and genetic analysis.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Cameron Rouse Turner, Stephen Francis Mann, Matt Spike, Robert D. Magrath, Kim Sterelny
Summary: Animals vary in their social learning capacities, and the joint evolution of traits for social learning has not been well-studied. This study provides a mathematical model to examine when reliable social learning emerges as a result of investment in traits for social and asocial learning, as well as teaching and masking. The findings show that social learning exists on a continuum and can be influenced by aligned or opposed interests.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ettore Camerlenghi, Sergio Nolazco, Damien R. Farine, Robert D. Magrath, Anne Peters
Summary: Multilevel societies are hierarchical social structures formed by stable groups of individuals. While previously thought to be unique to humans and large mammals, they have now been described in birds. It remains unclear what benefits individuals gain from forming such societies. This study examined the graded cooperation within the multilevel society of a songbird and found that the hierarchical pattern of helping exists independently of kinship.
Article
Ecology
Cameron Rouse Turner, Matt Spike, Robert D. Magrath
Summary: Interceptive eavesdropping on heterospecific alarm calls provides crucial information about predators. Previous research suggests that factors such as predator discrimination, call relevance, reliability, and reception play a role in the evolution of eavesdropping. However, there has been a lack of quantitative analysis on these principles and their interactions. In this study, a mathematical framework is developed to formalize the key principles involved in eavesdropping and examine the conditions under which eavesdropping is favored.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)