Hill Samuel D, Aryal Achyut, Pawley Matthew D M, Ji Weihong
Human-Wildlife Interactions Research Group, Institute of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand.
School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Integr Zool. 2018 Mar;13(2):194-205. doi: 10.1111/1749-4877.12284.
Song plays a fundamental role in intraspecific communication in songbirds. The temporal and structural components of songs can vary in different habitats. These include urban habitats where anthropogenic sounds and alteration of habitat structure can significantly affect songbird vocal behavior. Urban-rural variations in song complexity, song length and syllable rate are not fully understood. In this study, using the oriental magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis) as a model, we investigated urban-rural variation in song complexity, song length, syllable rate, syllable length and inter-syllable interval. Comparing urban and rural songs from 7 countries across its natural Asiatic range (Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand), we found no significant differences in oriental magpie-robin song complexity. However, we found significant differences in temporal song variables between urban and rural sites. Longer songs and inter-syllable intervals in addition to slower syllable rates within urban sites contributed the most to this variance. This indicates that the urban environment may have driven production of longer and slower songs to maximize efficient transmission of important song information in urban habitats.
鸣叫在鸣禽的种内交流中起着至关重要的作用。鸣叫的时间和结构成分在不同栖息地可能会有所不同。这些栖息地包括城市栖息地，在那里人为声音和栖息地结构的改变会显著影响鸣禽的发声行为。城乡之间在鸣叫复杂性、鸣叫长度和音节速率方面的差异尚未完全了解。在本研究中，我们以东方鹊鸲（Copsychus saularis）为模型，调查了城乡之间在鸣叫复杂性、鸣叫长度、音节速率、音节长度和音节间隔方面的差异。比较了东方鹊鸲在其自然亚洲分布范围内7个国家（孟加拉国、印度、马来西亚、尼泊尔、新加坡、斯里兰卡和泰国）的城市和乡村鸣叫，我们发现东方鹊鸲的鸣叫复杂性没有显著差异。然而，我们发现城乡地点之间在鸣叫时间变量上存在显著差异。城市地点内较长的鸣叫和音节间隔，以及较慢的音节速率对这种差异的贡献最大。这表明城市环境可能促使产生更长、更慢的鸣叫，以最大限度地在城市栖息地有效传递重要的鸣叫信息。
