Ambient noise from ocean surf drives frequency shifts in non-passerine bird song

Abstract

Effective communication in birds is often hampered by background noise, with many recent studies focusing on the effect of anthropogenic noise on passerine bird song. Continuous low-frequency natural noise is predicted to drive changes in both frequency and temporal patterning of bird vocalizations, but the extent to which these effects may also affect birds that lack vocal learning is not yet fully understood. Here we use a gradient of exposure to natural low-frequency noise to assess whether it exerts selective pressure on vocalizations in a species whose songs are innate. We tested whether three species of Pogoniulus tinkerbirds adapt their song when exposed to a source of continuous low-frequency noise from ocean surf. We show that dominant frequency increases the closer birds are to the coast in all the three species, and in line with higher noise levels, indicating that ocean surf sound may apply a selective pressure on tinkerbird songs. As a consequence, tinkerbirds adapt their songs with an increase in frequency to avoid the masking effect due to overlapping frequencies with ambient noise, therefore improving long-range communication with intended receivers. Our study provides for the first time, compelling evidence that natural ambient noise affects vocalizations in birds whose songs are developed innately. We believe that our results can also be extrapolated in the context of anthropogenic noise pollution, hence providing a baseline for the study of the effects of low-frequency ambient noise on birds that lack vocal learning. Significance StatementBirdsong is constantly under selection as it mediates key interactions such as mate attraction, competition with same-sex individuals for reproduction and competition with heterospecifics for space-related resources. Any phenomenon that interferes with communication can therefore have a profound impact on individual fitness. Passerines are more likely to avoid the masking effect of background noise because of their higher vocal flexibility. Many non-passerine species lacking such flexibility might therefore be more vulnerable to the negative effects on their fitness of exposure to low-frequency background noise. Species incapable of adapting their signals to background noise are predicted to disappear from noisy areas. Despite this, we show that species that lack song learning may show an adaptive response to natural noise which may develop over evolutionary timescales.