@article {58465, title = {Vocal behaviour, parasitic infection, chronic stress, and body condition in Rufous-naped Wrens (Campylorhynchus rufinucha)}, year = {2022}, month = {Aug-23-2022}, abstract = {

We explored the relationship between haemosporidian infection (infected vs. uninfected), parasite load, Heterophil-Lymphocyte ratio, body condition, and vocal behaviour of the Rufous-naped Wren Campylorhynchus rufinucha. Our results, albeit based on a small sample size, showed no evidence of an association between vocal behaviour and infection status, heterophil:lymphocyte ratio, or body condition. Infections did not vary among localities. Our results showed, however, that infection status was associated with a higher song rate, and that males and females belonging to the same reproductive pair had a strong positive correlation in infection status and parasite load.

}, issn = {0019-1019, 1474-919X}, doi = {10.1111/ibi.13130}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ibi.13130}, author = {Meza-Montes, Estefan{\'\i}a and Fern{\'a}ndez-G{\'o}mez, Ronald A. and Llanes-Quevedo, Alexander and Navarro-Sig{\"u}enza, Adolfo G. and Santiago-Alarcon, Diego and Sosa-L{\'o}pez, J. Roberto} } @article {58311, title = {Does the presence of an observer affect a bird{\textquoteright}s occurrence rate or singing rate during a point count?}, year = {2020}, abstract = {

The approach or presence of an observer may affect the behavior of nearby birds, rendering them either more or less detectable than when no observer is present due to a change in singing rates. To test whether there are systematic detection biases associated with the presence of an observer during point count bird surveys, we compared the occurrence and singing rates of birds during a 10-min period immediately preceding the time when an observer arrived to conduct a count and during the formal count itself by extracting song information from autonomous sound recorders. We obtained recordings of 36 species of birds detected at \≥5 locations in one of three vegetation types, including burned conifer forest, green conifer/riparian streamside forest, and riparian bottomland/marshland. We found that species richness and both the probability of occurrence and singing rate for any of the species recorded were unaffected by the presence of an observer. In addition, the probability of occurrence did not differ significantly among four 2.5-min recording sessions during 10-min counts when an observer was present. Thus, the presence of an observer did not appear to introduce any detectable systematic bias that would make bird lists or unadjusted occurrence rates inaccurate on that basis alone. In addition, rates of bird occurrence across 2.5-min temporal subsets of a 10-min count did not vary in a systematic way that would violate the assumption of equal occupancy across adjacent time periods as sometimes used to build detection histories in occupancy modeling.

}, keywords = {bird survey, detectability, observer effect, occupancy, passive acousticsampling, point count, singing rate, utonomous recording unit}, doi = {10.1111/jofo.12329}, url = {http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/jofo.12329}, author = {Hutto, Richard L. and Hutto, Russell R.} } @article {53426, title = {Conspecific challenges provoke female canyon wrens to sing but not to duet}, journal = {Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology}, volume = {72}, year = {2018}, month = {Jan-12-2018}, abstract = {

Song by female birds is rare in some species, particularly at north-temperate latitudes. Nevertheless, female song can carry important signal content and may be used in functional ways, both when sung solo and when combined into partner duets. Evidence supports the idea that duets reflect elevated threat levels because they indicate partner cooperation, but this comes from species with frequent female song and duetting. Here we asked the following questions about infrequently given female song in canyon wrens (Catherpes mexicanus) in Western North America. Do female birds use song in a context that implies functional significance? Do canyon wren mates combine their songs to form duets? Are duets a more threatening signal than non- overlapping dual-sex solo songs? To address these questions, we challenged canyon wrens with paired simulated intruders singing alternating solo songs or duets formed by overlapping male and female songs with consistent timing. Results indicated that female canyon wrens approached and sang in response to conspecific song playback as quickly as males did and increased their song rates significantly. Partners did not overlap their songs to create duets more often than expected by chance, and neither sex responded more strongly to duets than to solo songs. Outcomes match the prediction that duets only carry different signal content from solo song in species that frequently duet, and suggest that canyon wren female song is highly functional despite being rarely used outside of contest situations.

}, issn = {0340-5443}, doi = {10.1007/s00265-018-2625-0}, url = {http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00265-018-2625-0}, author = {Hathcock, T. J. and Benedict, Lauryn} } @article {53396, title = {Sing and do not stray: male rufous-and-white wrens use duets and physical behaviours to guard their mates}, journal = {Animal Behaviour}, volume = {143}, year = {2018}, month = {Jan-09-2018}, pages = {35 - 42}, abstract = {

In diverse animal taxa, breeding partners coordinate their vocalizations to produce vocal duets. One seldom-studied hypothesis for duets is the paternity guarding hypothesis, which states that male animals create duets to advertise their partner\&$\#$39;s mated status and minimize extrapair mating attempts between their partner and other males. We experimentally tested the paternity guarding hypothesis in rufous-and-white wrens, Thryophilus rufalbus, a neotropical duetting songbird. We designed a two-part playback experiment: males first experienced a simulated territorial intrusion by a rival male, and were then given opportunities to answer their female breeding partner\&$\#$39;s songs to create duets. We repeated this experiment during the female\&$\#$39;s fertile and nonfertile breeding stages. In support of predictions of the paternity guarding hypothesis, male wrens created more duets with their partner\&$\#$39;s songs during the fertile period compared to the nonfertile period. Additionally, male wrens appeared to physically guard their mates with greater intensity during the fertile period but did not increase their overall song rates, demonstrating that increased duetting rates during the fertile period were a result of a change in male duetting behaviour, rather than a change in song rate. Our study is among the first to experimentally test the paternity guarding hypothesis for duet function, and suggests that male rufous-and-white wrens use both vocal and physical behaviours to guard their paternity.

}, keywords = {duetting, mate guarding, paternity guarding, rufous-and-white wren, Thryophilus rufalbus, Thryothorus rufalbus}, issn = {00033472}, doi = {10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.07.005}, url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0003347218302203https://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0003347218302203?httpAccept=text/xmlhttps://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0003347218302203?httpAccept=text/plain}, author = {Kahn, Zachary A. and Moser-Purdy, Christopher and Mennill, Daniel J.} } @article {50491, title = {Sexual differentiation and seasonal variation in response to conspecific and heterospecific acoustic signals}, journal = {Ethology}, volume = {123}, year = {2017}, month = {Jan-06-2017}, pages = {460 - 466}, abstract = {

Interspecific territoriality is frequently reported between closely related species; however, few studies have demonstrated interspecific territoriality between distantly related species living in sympatry. We conducted playback experiments to investigate territorial behaviour in male and female White-bellied Wrens (Uropsila leucogastra) in response to simulated conspecific and heterospecific intruders during the breeding and non-breeding seasons. We explored whether heterospecific songs of the Happy Wren (Pheugopedius felix), a distantly related species and ecological competitor, elicited antagonistic responses from focal White-bellied Wrens, and whether such responses differed between the sexes. We also examined whether male and female responses to conspecific and heterospecific rivals varied with season. We found that male White-bellied Wrens always responded to conspecific song, and responded significantly more to heterospecific song compared to a control stimulus (Tropical Parula, Setophaga pitiayumi). In contrast, although female White-bellied Wrens responded strongly to conspecific song, their response to heterospecific song did not differ significantly from the control stimulus. The proportion of males that responded to heterospecific songs and the proportion of females that responded to conspecific songs varied seasonally, showing significantly lower responses during the breeding season. The intense responses of male White-bellied Wrens to playback of heterospecific songs suggest that they recognise ecological competitors based on their vocal signals. Furthermore, the decrease in agonistic interactions during the breeding season is in line with the hypothesis that aggressive behaviour may be detrimental to reproductive and parental activity, and the hypothesis that heterospecific animals pose less of a threat during the breeding season.

}, doi = {10.1111/eth.12616}, url = {http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/eth.12616}, author = {Sosa-L{\'o}pez, J. Roberto and Mennill, Daniel J. and Renton, Katherine}, editor = {Koenig, W.} }