How noisy does a noisy miner have to be? Amplitude adjustments of alarm calls in an avian urban 'adapter'.

<h4>Background</h4>Urban environments generate constant loud noise, which creates a formidable challenge for many animals relying on acoustic communication. Some birds make vocal adjustments that reduce auditory masking by altering, for example, the frequency (kHz) or timing of vocalizat...

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Autores principales:	Hélène Lowry, Alan Lill, Bob B M Wong
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2012
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/a6db39ff735145af9e567c2beec6e455
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:a6db39ff735145af9e567c2beec6e4552021-11-18T07:30:55ZHow noisy does a noisy miner have to be? Amplitude adjustments of alarm calls in an avian urban 'adapter'.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0029960https://doaj.org/article/a6db39ff735145af9e567c2beec6e4552012-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/22238684/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203<h4>Background</h4>Urban environments generate constant loud noise, which creates a formidable challenge for many animals relying on acoustic communication. Some birds make vocal adjustments that reduce auditory masking by altering, for example, the frequency (kHz) or timing of vocalizations. Another adjustment, well documented for birds under laboratory and natural field conditions, is a noise level-dependent change in sound signal amplitude (the 'Lombard effect'). To date, however, field research on amplitude adjustments in urban environments has focused exclusively on bird song.<h4>Methods</h4>We investigated amplitude regulation of alarm calls using, as our model, a successful urban 'adapter' species, the Noisy miner, Manorina melanocephala. We compared several different alarm calls under contrasting noise conditions.<h4>Results</h4>Individuals at noisier locations (arterial roads) alarm called significantly more loudly than those at quieter locations (residential streets). Other mechanisms known to improve sound signal transmission in 'noise', namely use of higher perches and in-flight calling, did not differ between site types. Intriguingly, the observed preferential use of different alarm calls by Noisy miners inhabiting arterial roads and residential streets was unlikely to have constituted a vocal modification made in response to sound-masking in the urban environment because the calls involved fell within the main frequency range of background anthropogenic noise.<h4>Conclusions</h4>The results of our study suggest that a species, which has the ability to adjust the amplitude of its signals, might have a 'natural' advantage in noisy urban environments.Hélène LowryAlan LillBob B M WongPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 7, Iss 1, p e29960 (2012)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Hélène Lowry Alan Lill Bob B M Wong How noisy does a noisy miner have to be? Amplitude adjustments of alarm calls in an avian urban 'adapter'.
description	<h4>Background</h4>Urban environments generate constant loud noise, which creates a formidable challenge for many animals relying on acoustic communication. Some birds make vocal adjustments that reduce auditory masking by altering, for example, the frequency (kHz) or timing of vocalizations. Another adjustment, well documented for birds under laboratory and natural field conditions, is a noise level-dependent change in sound signal amplitude (the 'Lombard effect'). To date, however, field research on amplitude adjustments in urban environments has focused exclusively on bird song.<h4>Methods</h4>We investigated amplitude regulation of alarm calls using, as our model, a successful urban 'adapter' species, the Noisy miner, Manorina melanocephala. We compared several different alarm calls under contrasting noise conditions.<h4>Results</h4>Individuals at noisier locations (arterial roads) alarm called significantly more loudly than those at quieter locations (residential streets). Other mechanisms known to improve sound signal transmission in 'noise', namely use of higher perches and in-flight calling, did not differ between site types. Intriguingly, the observed preferential use of different alarm calls by Noisy miners inhabiting arterial roads and residential streets was unlikely to have constituted a vocal modification made in response to sound-masking in the urban environment because the calls involved fell within the main frequency range of background anthropogenic noise.<h4>Conclusions</h4>The results of our study suggest that a species, which has the ability to adjust the amplitude of its signals, might have a 'natural' advantage in noisy urban environments.
format	article
author	Hélène Lowry Alan Lill Bob B M Wong
author_facet	Hélène Lowry Alan Lill Bob B M Wong
author_sort	Hélène Lowry
title	How noisy does a noisy miner have to be? Amplitude adjustments of alarm calls in an avian urban 'adapter'.
title_short	How noisy does a noisy miner have to be? Amplitude adjustments of alarm calls in an avian urban 'adapter'.
title_full	How noisy does a noisy miner have to be? Amplitude adjustments of alarm calls in an avian urban 'adapter'.
title_fullStr	How noisy does a noisy miner have to be? Amplitude adjustments of alarm calls in an avian urban 'adapter'.
title_full_unstemmed	How noisy does a noisy miner have to be? Amplitude adjustments of alarm calls in an avian urban 'adapter'.
title_sort	how noisy does a noisy miner have to be? amplitude adjustments of alarm calls in an avian urban 'adapter'.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2012
url	https://doaj.org/article/a6db39ff735145af9e567c2beec6e455
work_keys_str_mv	AT helenelowry hownoisydoesanoisyminerhavetobeamplitudeadjustmentsofalarmcallsinanavianurbanadapter AT alanlill hownoisydoesanoisyminerhavetobeamplitudeadjustmentsofalarmcallsinanavianurbanadapter AT bobbmwong hownoisydoesanoisyminerhavetobeamplitudeadjustmentsofalarmcallsinanavianurbanadapter
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How noisy does a noisy miner have to be? Amplitude adjustments of alarm calls in an avian urban 'adapter'.

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