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LSU researcher first to demonstrate link between bird songs and habitat change
June 15, 2009Post-doctoral researcher finds birds alter songs in reaction to habitat change
BATON ROUGE - Elizabeth Derryberry, post-doctoral researcher at the LSU Museum of Natural Science, has found a link between alterations in bird songs and the rapid change in the surrounding habitat. Her research will be featured in the July 2009 issue of the American Naturalist.
Derryberry, a behavioral ecologist, has studied this phenomenon since her time as a graduate student at Duke University, where she discovered tapes from ornithologist Luis Baptista. On these tapes, which had been recorded in the 1970s, she quickly noticed that the birds were singing quite a different tune than those happening right outside her door.
"I was really surprised to find that songs had changed in a similar way in so many different populations," said Derryberry.
Using aerial photographs to map the vegetation and habitat changes that took place between 1970 and 2005, when she began the research, Derryberry was able to determine that in places where plant growth had increased, bird songs were slowing down.
"This is likely due to the birds' avoidance of sound reverberation," said Derryberry. "Because California has steadily increased vegetation in areas that had previously been cleared, the birds slowed the frequency and tempo of their songs in order to avoid reverberation distorting their mating song."
While California has experienced a re-greening of sorts, many South American countries, many of which are important habitats for rare and endangered species of birds, are experiencing severe deforestation. Derryberry is now studying the effects habitat on song in species in South America, where widespread habitat destruction and global climate change may affect song evolution.
Louisiana State University
"I was really surprised to find that songs had changed in a similar way in so many different populations," said Derryberry.
Using aerial photographs to map the vegetation and habitat changes that took place between 1970 and 2005, when she began the research, Derryberry was able to determine that in places where plant growth had increased, bird songs were slowing down.
"This is likely due to the birds' avoidance of sound reverberation," said Derryberry. "Because California has steadily increased vegetation in areas that had previously been cleared, the birds slowed the frequency and tempo of their songs in order to avoid reverberation distorting their mating song."
While California has experienced a re-greening of sorts, many South American countries, many of which are important habitats for rare and endangered species of birds, are experiencing severe deforestation. Derryberry is now studying the effects habitat on song in species in South America, where widespread habitat destruction and global climate change may affect song evolution.
Louisiana State University
Birds communicate reproductive success in song
Some migratory songbirds figure out the best place to live by eavesdropping on the singing of others that successfully have had baby birds - a communication and behavioral trait so strong that researchers playing recorded songs induced them to nest in places they otherwise would have avoided.
Researchers studying how singing bats communicate
Bats are the most vocal mammals other than humans, and understanding how they communicate during their nocturnal outings could lead to better treatments for human speech disorders, say researchers at Texas A&M University.
Warbling Whales Speak a Language All Their Own
The songs of the humpback whale are among the most complex in the animal kingdom. Researchers have now mathematically confirmed that whales have their own syntax that uses sound units to build phrases that can be combined to form songs that last for hours.
The latest papers from the Royal Society Journals
Please find below the summaries of papers in Proceedings A and B that are due to be published this week on FirstCite, the Royal Society`s new rapid online publication service. Proceedings A publishes peer-reviewed research papers in the mathematical, physical and engineering sciences. Proceedings B publishes peer-reviewed research in all aspects of biology. Both journals are published by the Royal Society but the papers featured in these publications do not reflect the Society`s views or policies. Passwords for this site can be supplied to bona fide media on request. For more information, please contact Soccy Ponsford on tel +44 (0) 207 451 2508 or email mailto:press@royalsoc.ac.uk PROCEEDIN
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