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Cross-fostering diminishes song discrimination in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata)

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Abstract

Song-production, -discrimination, and -preferences in oscine birds are dually influenced by species identity and the ontogenetic environment. The cross-fostering of a model species for recognition research, the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) into heterospecific nests of the Bengalese finch (Lonchura striata vars. domestica) allows an exploration of the sensory limits of early development and the effects of species-specific acoustic cues upon song discrimination in adulthood. To quantify the song preferences of female and male normal-reared (control) and Bengalese finch fostered zebra finches, we recorded multiple behavioral measures, including spatial proximity, vocalization rates and response latency, during sequential song-playback choice-trials using both tutor species’ songs and the songs of two other ecologically relevant Australian species, the owl finch (Taeniopygia bichenovii) and the star finch (Neochmia ruficauda). Response strength was variable between the different measures, but no differences were detected within the specific behavioral responses towards the song playbacks of the two sexes. Control subjects strongly preferred their own species’ songs while Bengalese-fostered zebra finches exhibited reduced song discrimination between con-, tutor-, and heterospecific songs. Overall behavioral responsiveness was also modulated by social ontogeny. These results indicate a difference in the strength of preference for song that is dependent on the species identity of the rearing environment in oscine birds and illustrate the role of multiple behavioral measures and ecologically relevant stimulus species selection in behavioral research using zebra finches.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship (to DLMC) and grants from the University of Auckland Research Council (new staff, staff, and ECRE awards), the Faculty of Science Staff Development Fund, and the New Zealand Marsden Fund (to MEH). We are grateful for comments of anonymous referees and discussions with members of the Neuroethology Tutorial Group and the ecology and the animal behavior laboratory at the University of Auckland. We are thankful for assistance provided by R. Beckham, A. Campbell, C. Hmielewski, N. Krutzfeldt, I. MacDonald, E. Marks. S. Woolley, and many others. All experiments were approved by the University of Auckland Animal Ethics Committee.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, PB 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand

    Dana L. M. Campbell & Mark E. Hauber

  2. Department of Psychology, Hunter College, 695 Park Avenue, New York, 10065, USA

    Mark E. Hauber

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  1. Dana L. M. Campbell
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Correspondence to Dana L. M. Campbell.

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Campbell, D.L.M., Hauber, M.E. Cross-fostering diminishes song discrimination in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). Anim Cogn 12, 481–490 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-008-0209-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-008-0209-5

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