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Acoustic cues as a source of social information about food availability
Thesis   Open access

Acoustic cues as a source of social information about food availability

Jessica K Tir
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
2023
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000006294
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Open Access CC BY-NC-ND V4.0

Abstract

bioacoustics food availability social information Ornithology
Attuning to acoustic information can help animals improve their foraging success. Animals can get information about where to find food through context-specific vocalizations or by hearing aggregations of other animals. Another factor that can influence foraging success is the ability to accurately evaluate when food availability is in decline. However, little is known about whether the acoustic cues produced by animals differ when food is in decline and if these cues can be used as a source of information about food availability. In this thesis, I discuss the use and importance of acoustic social information and present a study on the effect of food availability on the vocal behavior of a nomadic finch, the pine siskin (Spinus pinus). We recorded and characterized the vocalizations of birds that were given either reduced or unrestricted access to food. We found that birds called more frequently when food restricted, and that they specifically increased the production of two particular call types. We also found that in one of those calls types, the minimum frequency was higher when birds were food restricted, and in the other call type the minimum frequency as well as the dominant and fundamental peak frequencies were higher when food was restricted. This work adds to our understanding of how prevailing environmental conditions influence vocal behavior and highlights the potential for vocalizations to be a source of acoustic cues about local food availability.

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