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Alarm calls of the Southern House Wren Troglodytes musculus: variation with nesting stage and predator model

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Abstract

Alarm calls given by parents when risk is detected during nesting may be considered a form of parental defense. We analyzed variations in callings of breeding pairs of the Southern House Wren Troglodytes musculus during the nesting cycle and when faced with different predator models. Nesting birds were exposed to stuffed models at different nesting stages (early and late during incubation, and nests with younger and older nestlings). Nests were also exposed to different predator models where the calling response of breeding adults and acoustic structure variations of the calls were analyzed. The presence of a predator model increased the parents’ alarm calls along the nesting stage. This result supports the hypothesis that the higher the nest reproductive value, the higher the nest defense performed by the Southern House Wren. However, it also supports the notion that alarm calls could be used by parents to silence nestlings and reduce their detectability. Alarm calls also varied according to the predator model presented. We suggest that alarm calls variations of Southern House Wrens could encode information about the kind of predator and the risk envisaged through variations of call rates.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Luis García and the owner of “La Esperanza” (General Lavalle) for allowing us to perform this study at their ranch. M. Beade from Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina provided logistical support during fieldwork. We thank M.G. Corral, N.M. Duré Ruiz, C. Haupt, P. Llambías, M.E. Mermoz and C. Serra for their collaboration in the field and C. Penedo, M. Carro, J. Crespo and two anonymous reviewers for corrections and suggestions to an earlier version of this paper. F.M. Gabelli lent us the audio-recording equipment. This study was supported by grants to G.J.F. from Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBACYT, Programación 2004–2007, UBACYT-X007) and Neotropical Grassland Conservancy (Equipment Grant, 2003). All methods used in the present study meet the ethical requirements for science research of the University of Buenos Aires and comply with the current laws of our country.

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  1. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Laboratorio de Ecología y Comportamiento Animal, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Int. Guiraldes s/n, Pabellón 2 Ciudad Universitaria, C1428EHA, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Mariana Fasanella & Gustavo J. Fernández

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  1. Mariana Fasanella
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  2. Gustavo J. Fernández
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Correspondence to Gustavo J. Fernández.

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Communicated by P. H. Becker.

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Fasanella, M., Fernández, G.J. Alarm calls of the Southern House Wren Troglodytes musculus: variation with nesting stage and predator model. J Ornithol 150, 853–863 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-009-0406-2

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