Homing in on Melodies

A. Ecological Drivers of mating signals

1. Sensory drive
2. magic trait
B. Relative roles of sensory drive and magic traits
C. Effects of ecology on bird vocalization
1.Habitat
2.Climate
3.Amount of light

INTRODUCTION
Home is where each of our stories begin. It is where we first learn how to walk, talk and socialize.
A home is also a place where we can obtain our basic necessities, like food, water and shelter.
Our home is not much different with the homes of other organisms. However, unlike most of us,
their needs are harder to acquire in these places.

Since an ecosystem changes with time and space, organisms have to adapt themselves with the
new environment. According to Darwin, evolution itself is based on adaptive selection. The
organisms, which can adapt to their environment in a better way, are permitted by nature to
survive. Therefore, the less-adapted organisms are eliminated readily through death, before the
attainment of reproductive age.

For birds, these adaptations come in several forms. One of the most important adaptations is the
way they communicate with each other through songs. So how do birds home in on melodies?

OUTLINE
Today I will be discussing the ecological drivers of mating signals which comes in two ways:
sensory drive and magic traits. Then I will proceed to their relative roles to song diversification.
And finish with vocalization of birds on different ecological factors: habitat, climate and amount of
light.

A. ECOLOGICAL DRIVERS OF MATING SIGNALS

A A bird’s song is a sexual trait important in mate choice and known to be shaped by
environmental selection.Although the role of ecology mediated by habitat differences was once
considered to be relatively straightforward, recent work has highlighted increasing disagreement
about the ecological mechanisms underlying signal diversification

A prominent issue is that ecological diversity drives the evolution of mating signals in two distinct
ways: sensory drive and magic traits

1. SENSORY DRIVE

• Divergence of mating signals due to differences in the transmission properties of

habitats as a result of direct habitat-dependent selection for effective signal
transmission.
• Explanation: Sensory drive is a direct way of song evolution selection.
According to sensory drive, the reason why mating signals diversify/evolved
is to effectively send signals to and fro in relation to the transmission
condition of their environment. In long-distance signals, the physical
 properties of habitats may affect sound transmission, leading to the
adaptation of signals to specific environ- ments.

2. MAGIC TRAITS

In contrast to sensory drive magic traits is an indirect driver, because mating signals only diversify
as a consequence of traits having multiple functions. So unlike sensory drive this evolution is only
a byproduct of other morphological characteristics produced by the organism in order to cope with
the environment. Such traits have been termed “magic traits” because under divergent ecological
selection, they give rise “as if by magic” to signal divergence, and ultimately non random mating,
resolving a long-standing difficulty in models of ecological speciation

Larger birds tend to produce lower frequency songs because fundamental frequency of
birdsong is determined by the vibrating frequency of the syringeal membrane

B. RELATIVE ROLES OF SENSORY DRIVE AND MAGIC TRAITS

Despite extensive research on both direct and indirect sources of ecological selection on bird
song, there are only two studies considering both possibilities in tandem.

One study conducted by Seddon, 2005 demonstrated that both direct and indirect selection
played a role in the evolution of song in antbirds (Thamnophilidae). However a species level
molecular phylogeny was not available.

A study by Mason et al found that body size was more important than habitat in the evolution of
song in tanagers (Thraupidae). However there is still a limited understanding of the relative roles
of these mechanisms, partly because comprehensive information on phylogenetic relationships,
signal design, morphology, and ecology are rarely available.

Recently, a study by derryberry et al used phylogenetic comparative techniques to assess the

relative roles of direct and indirect ecological selection on song diversification across 285 species
of ovenbirds (Furnariidae).

Ovenbirds are an ideal system because they exhibit high diversity in both habitat preferences and
morphological characters associated with feeding

C.1. Habitat
Bird song can be absorbed and or reflected by physical objects, even by such tenuous
physical objects as wind. Different wavelengths of sound are absorbed and reflected to a lesser
or greater degree by different objects. The range of frequencies at which birds call in an
environment varies with the habitat and the ambient noise.

Research into bird song has found that lower frequencies travel the farthest regardless of habitat
and higher frequencies have a greater tendency to be scattered by foliage in comparison to lower
frequencies. These characteristics imply that high frequencies may be constrained by habitat

C.2. Temperature
Recent climate change has resulted in warmer but also more humid conditions in many
places due to increasing precipitation (IPCC 2007). It has altered change has altered phenology,
demography, abundance, and distribution of many organisms. However, there are relatively few
studies of changes in behavior. Such changes in climatic conditions affect sound transmission
and hence vocal communication.
Changes could come about in a number of potential ways:
1. Higher frequencies are louder than lower frequencies during warmer
temperatures…However, the exact relationship between sound absorption and climate is
not straightforward because it interacts with atmospheric pressure, relative humidity,
temperature, and frequency
2. Second, air temperature can have significant effects on turbulence that can
affect high frequencies of birdcalls but also cause scatter (Wiley and Richards
1978).
B. Third, not only temperature but also precipitation has increased considerably in recent
years in some parts of the world, and this can affect sound propagation and therefore
timing of singing but not sound absorption, which is mainly affected by humidity. (it
only delays the soundwaves, but does not do anything to absorb it)
C. Fourth, climate change may affect vocal communication through effects of climate on
vegetation.

C.3. Amount of light

Associated with a continued global increase in urbanization, anthropogenic light pollution
is a serious problem. However, our understanding of the ecological consequences of light
pollution is limited. In birds, light pollution is often associated with changes in biological rhythms,
which can ultimately affect breeding behaviours and fitness.
A study by conducted by Da silva et al. found how the amount of light affects the dusk and
dawn vocalizations of six male songbird species. These species naturally differ in their seasonal
singing behaviour.

Where:Y-axis is the observed and daily of probability of singing of six song birds on dawn
(left) and dusk (right). X-axis is the number of days the recordings were conducted (Jan 6-April
17). Grey dots and lines-sites with artificial lighting. Black dots and lines-non lighted sites. The
dots show the proportion of recorders where dawn or dusk song was observed. Solid line indicated
means as predicted from generalized linear mixed models for each species at dawn and dusk.
Dawn singing: the effect of artificial night light was largest in the robin and the blackbird,
they were more likely to produce a dawn chorus earlier in the season in the lighted sites since
they naturally sing earliest at dawn. Great tits and – to some extent – also blue tits, also started
their dawn choruses earlier in the year. Only the song thrush started its dawn chorus later in the
year in lighted areas, perhaps because they avoided setting up territories there. In the chaffinch,
the probability of dawn singing did not differ between lighted and dark sites across the entire
recording period mainly because its singing is not affected by light.
Dusk singing: Similar to the dawn chorus, robins, blackbirds, great tits and blue tits were
more likely to produce a dusk chorus earlier in the season in the lighted sites compared with the
dark sites. In the song thrush and the chaffinch, the probability of dusk singing did not differ
between lighted and dark sites across the season.
All these evidences suggest that indeed light is important for the daily and seasonal
activities of diurnal birds, like foraging, mating and breeding.

..They found that birds in places with high noise levels started to sing earlier. Light pollution did
not have a significant effect. Birds may begin to sing earlier in noisy areas to avoid acoustic
masking by traffic later in the morning. This result suggest that some tropical birds may be less
sensitive to variations in day length and thus less sensitive to light pollution.