Song type preferences during the dawn chorus in male Adelaide’s warblers (Setophaga adelaidae)

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dc.contributor.authorOgundimu, Oluwatosin Adeola
dc.contributor.authorUniversity of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science
dc.contributor.supervisorLogue, David M.
dc.date.accessioned2025-05-23T17:14:44Z
dc.date.available2025-05-23T17:14:44Z
dc.date.issued2025
dc.degree.levelMasters
dc.description.abstractSongbirds sing a repertoire of song types, some of which are shared with neighbours. Songbirds prefer certain song types, but the reasons for these preferences are not well understood. I analyzed 11,800 dawn chorus songs from 14 male Adelaide's warblers (Setophaga adelaidae) to determine if males exhibit preference for specific song types and if these preferences are consistent across recording days. Each male had an average repertoire of 21.27 ± 3.62 song types. All males had song preferences, with the most preferred song type accounting for 17% of their song output. Song type preferences were consistent across days. I then omitted recordings that were not amenable to acoustic analysis, resulting in a reduced dataset (n = 9395), which I used to test whether males prefer (1) widely shared (locally prevalent) song types, (2) song types with superior transmission properties, or (3) song types with high or low vocal performance. I found strong evidence that males preferred widely shared songs, but the evidence for the second hypothesis was mixed. Males preferred song types with low frequency and low percent sound, supporting two predictions of the efficient sound transmission hypothesis. However, they did not prefer songs with high amplitude or high vocal deviation, negating the other two predictions of that hypothesis. Males preferred song types with low percent sound, as expected by the third hypothesis if they prefer songs with low performance requirement, but amplitude and vocal deviation had little effect on preference. This study supports the Social Dynamics Hypothesis, which states that social factors influence Adelaide's warblers' song type preference during the dawn chorus. Song sharing within the local communication networks influences male song preferences, although acoustic transmission properties and vocal performance may play a role as well.
dc.embargoNo
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10133/7039
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherLethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Biological Sciences
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Biological Sciences
dc.publisher.facultyArts and Science
dc.relation.ispartofseriesThesis (University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science)
dc.subjectdawn chorus
dc.subjectmale Adelaide's warblers
dc.subjectsong sharing
dc.subjectsong type preferences
dc.subject.lcshDissertations, Academic
dc.subject.lcshSetophaga--Research
dc.subject.lcshSetophaga--Vocalization--Research
dc.subject.lcshSongbirds
dc.subject.lcshBirdsongs--Research
dc.subject.lcshBirds--Vocalization--Research
dc.titleSong type preferences during the dawn chorus in male Adelaide’s warblers (Setophaga adelaidae)
dc.typeThesis
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