The acoustic environment and parent-offspring communication in birds

鸟类的声环境与亲子交流

• 批准号: 227150-2009
• 负责人: Leonard, Martha
• 金额: $ 2.48万
• 依托单位: Dalhousie University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2015-01-01 至 2016-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=570247
• 关键词: acoustic; environment; parent; offspring; communication

Animals communicate using a range of signals, from whispered calls between mates to the elaborate displays of courting males. Explaining the structure and diversity of such signals has been a central problem in the study of animal communication. Studies on adult animals show that acoustic signals are often structured in ways that help transmit the signal through the environment and improve reception by receivers. Young animals also produce acoustic signals, as part of vigorous begging displays used to solicit food from parents. The intensity of these signals has puzzled evolutionary biologists because they appear to waste energy and make the young obvious to predators. Many studies have tried to explain why these begging signals appear so conspicuous, but few have examined the role the environment might play in explaining their structure. My students and I study parent-offspring communication in birds, with a focus on understanding how conspicuous begging signals may have evolved. In this proposal, we test the idea that selection for effective transmission and reception through the environment of the nest explains the structure of begging signals, particularly begging calls. Specifically, we examine how the acoustics of the nest, acoustic competition from nest mates and environmental noise together affect the types of signals given by young birds. Understanding how animals communicate is central to understanding all aspects of their social behaviour. Communication between parents and young is particularly important because it affects offspring growth and survival. Our work is the first to address fundamental questions about how the environment affects these important signals. It also examines how noise impacts parent-offspring communication, which is a growing problem for animals living in or near urban areas, where anthropogenic noise is increasing.

动物使用一系列信号进行交流，从配偶之间的低声叫声到雄性求爱时的精心展示。解释此类信号的结构和多样性一直是动物交流研究的中心问题。对成年动物的研究表明，声音信号的结构通常有助于在环境中传输信号并改善接收器的接收效果。 年幼的动物也会发出声音信号，作为向父母乞讨食物的有力乞讨表演的一部分。这些信号的强度让进化生物学家感到困惑，因为它们似乎浪费了能量，并使幼崽容易被掠食者发现。许多研究试图解释为什么这些乞讨信号显得如此明显，但很少有人研究环境在解释其结构方面可能发挥的作用。 我和我的学生研究鸟类的亲子交流，重点是了解明显的乞讨信号是如何进化的。在这个提案中，我们测试了这样一个想法：通过巢穴环境进行有效传输和接收的选择解释了乞求信号的结构，特别是乞求呼叫。具体来说，我们研究了巢穴的声学效果、巢伙伴的声学竞争和环境噪声如何共同影响幼鸟发出的信号类型。 了解动物如何交流对于理解其社会行为的各个方面至关重要。父母与子女之间的沟通尤为重要，因为它影响着后代的成长和生存。我们的工作首先解决了有关环境如何影响这些重要信号的基本问题。它还研究了噪音如何影响亲子交流，这对于生活在城市地区或城市附近的动物来说是一个日益严重的问题，而城市地区的人为噪音正在增加。