Data from: Factors affecting acoustic transmission of birdsong: Variation among song types and the effects of habitat on Bachman's sparrow (Peucaea aestivalis) song

Le résumé fourni par la source

Environmental factors shape animal communication signals. In songbirds, both biotic and abiotic factors influence the evolution of song structure. However, the role of abiotic factors in song learning within populations is unclear. Within songbird populations, some song types are commonly shared while others are rare. We hypothesized that song type prevalence is influenced by their transmission properties, leading to differential learning rates. In addition, we hypothesized that abiotic factors such as tree density, wind speed, and singer height affect the acoustic properties of some song types more than others. We tested these hypotheses using song types in a population of Bachman's sparrow (Peucaea aestivalis). We measured the spectral and temporal features of 9 common and 10 rare song types and conducted a song propagation experiment across 8 sites. Common song types had shorter gap lengths between syllables compared to rare song types. Our propagation experiment showed that common song types transmitted farther for two of the six transmission properties measured. However, common types showed greater excess attenuation, indicating more loss of excess amplitude. Wind did not differentially affect the transmission properties of common or rare song types. While height and tree density influenced acoustic transmission, they did not affect common and rare types differently. Our results are in line with previous work showing that acoustic features of songs can influence how they transmit through the environment and provide some support for the hypothesis that the prevalence of song types within a population might be influenced by acoustic transmission

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