Abstract
Studies of birdsong across very broad geographic scales, such as between the north temperate zone and the tropics, provide special opportunities to understand the role of variable ecologies, life histories and mating pressures on song structure and organization. The problem is typically studied through comparative, cross-species analyses because few species have such broad distributions to encompass both regions. The House Wren is an important exception, having the widest distribution of any native songbird in the Americas, from Canada to Tierra del Fuego. Across this range, they manifest considerable variation in life history, mating systems and migration, but there is no systematic research on corresponding song variation. Here we provide a first detailed characterization of song structure and organization for Southern House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon chilensis) in western Argentina and provide preliminary comparisons to Northern House Wrens. Songs of Southern House Wrens contained two distinct sections: an introduction of broadband noisy, or harmonic, notes followed by a louder terminal section of tonal, frequency-modulated syllables with a mean of seven syllables and three syllable types per song. The syllable repertoire was large (28), mostly shared and used to construct very large song repertoires (up to 170 song types with no evidence of a ceiling), but much smaller repertoires of commonly produced song types (24). Males tended to repeat song types many times before switching (eventual variety) but, at times, sang with immediate variety. Compared to Northern House Wrens, there were differences in the detailed form of some notes and syllables as well as in the relative emphasis of the softer introduction versus louder terminal section of songs. In broader patterns of song construction, organization, delivery, and the size of syllable and song repertoires, the two populations were very similar. These patterns are discussed in light of differences in life history, mating and migration between them.
Zusammenfassung
Gesangsstruktur und -organisation beim Südlichen Hauszaunkönig Troglodytes aedon chilensis
Untersuchungen von Vogelgesang über große Gebiete hinweg, zum Beispiel in der nördlichen gemäßigten Zone und in den Tropen, bieten besondere Gelegenheiten, die Rolle variabler Ökologie, Lebensgeschichte und Paarungsdruck hinsichtlich der Gesangsstruktur und -organisation zu verstehen. Dieses Problem wird typischerweise mit Hilfe vergleichender Analysen mehrerer Arten untersucht, da nur bei wenigen Arten das Verbreitungsgebiet so groß ist, dass es beide Regionen einschließt. Der Hauszaunkönig, der die weiteste Verbreitung aller in Amerika heimischen Singvögel aufweist (von Kanada bis Feuerland), stellt hier eine wichtige Ausnahme dar. Über dieses Gebiet hinweg zeigt die Art beträchtliche Variation in Lebensgeschichte, Paarungssystem und Zugverhalten, doch gibt es keine entsprechende systematische Forschung bezüglich der Variation im Gesang. Hier liefern wir eine erste detaillierte Beschreibung der Gesangsstruktur und -organisation bei Südlichen Hauszaunkönigen (Troglodytes aedon chilensis) in Westargentinien und stellen vorläufige Vergleiche mit Nördlichen Hauszaunkönigen an. Die Gesänge der Südlichen Hauszaunkönige bestanden aus zwei unterschiedlichen Abschnitten: einer Einleitung aus verrauschten oder harmonischen Breitbandnoten, auf die eine lautere Endsektion tonaler frequenzmodulierter Silben folgte, mit im Mittel sieben Silben und drei Silbentypen pro Gesang. Das Silbenrepertoire war umfassend (28), wurde zum großen Teil gemeinsam genutzt und zum Aufbau sehr großer Gesangsrepertoires verwendet (bis zu 170 Gesangstypen mit keinen Hinweisen auf eine Obergrenze). Die Repertoires häufig produzierter Gesangstypen waren allerdings viel kleiner (24). Männchen tendierten dazu, Gesangstypen viele Male zu wiederholen, bevor sie wechselten (letztendliche Gesangsvielfalt), zeigten zeitweise jedoch auch unmittelbare Gesangsvielfalt. Verglichen mit Nördlichen Hauszaunkönigen bestanden Unterschiede in der genauen Form einiger Noten und Silben sowie in der relativen Betonung der leiseren Einleitung relativ zur lauteren Endsektion der Gesänge. Die beiden Populationen ähnelten sich sehr in den allgemeinen Mustern von Gesangsaufbau, Organisation und Darbietung sowie in der Größe der Silben- und Gesangsrepertoires. Diese Muster werden im Hinblick auf Unterschiede in Lebensgeschichte, Paarungs- und Zugverhalten zwischen den Populationen diskutiert.
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Acknowledgments
Research adhered to guidelines of the Canadian Council on Animal Care and was approved by the Animal Welfare Committee of the University of Lethbridge (AWC#1429), and local permits were granted by Secretaría de Medio Ambiente, Dirección de Recursos Naturales Renovables, Gobierno de Mendoza, Argentina (Res: 459). Research was supported by grants to DR from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the University of Lethbridge (DR) and to PEL from CONICET (PIP 2011-11220100100039) and FONCYT (PICT-2010-1033). EbdS was supported by a graduate fellowship from CNPq, Brazil (National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development). We are grateful to Jacob Armiger, Milagros Jefferies, John Schoen, Karen Rendall and Agustín Zarco for field assistance; to David Logue, Paloma Sanchez-Jauregui and Carlos J. Gómez for help developing Fig. 8; to Taka Kaluthota for assistance in note and syllable identifications, and to Karen Rendall for expert assistance in developing and managing the large database of song recordings. Thanks also to the reviewers for many constructive comments and suggestions.
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Communicated by M. Naguib.
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dos Santos, E.B., Llambías, P.E. & Rendall, D. The structure and organization of song in Southern House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon chilensis). J Ornithol 157, 289–301 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-015-1277-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-015-1277-3