A review of the literature reveals that, if females prefer traits that deviate from the population mean, they usually prefer traits of greater quantity. In cases in which the sensory bases of these preferences are identified, females prefer traits of greater quantity because these traits elicit greater sensory stimulation. However, two caveats apply. First, the studies surveyed might not represent an unbiased sample of mate choice, because researchers usually study systems characterized by exaggerated traits. Second, a preference for traits of greater quantity does not suggest that preference for average traits is unimportant; it might be more usual than preference for exaggerated traits. Phylogenetic comparisons sometimes allow one to distinguish among competing hypotheses for the evolution of female mating preferences. Two hypotheses, Fisher's theory of "runaway" sexual selection and the "good genes" hypothesis, predict that traits and preferences coevolve, whereas the "sensory exploitation" hypothesis ...

Directional patterns of female mate choice and the role of sensory biases

Design of Playback Experiments P.K. McGregor, et al. Playback J.B. Falls. Integrating Playback C.K. Catchpole. What Studies on Learning Can Teach Us About Playback Design I.M. Pepperberg. Conducting Playback Experiments and Interpreting their Results H.C. Gerhardt. Quantifying Responses to Playback P.K. McGregor. Interactive Playback T. Dabelsteen. Playback as a Tool for Studying Contests Between Social Groups K. McComb. Song Overproduction, Song Matching, and Selective Attrition During Development D.A. Nelson. Male Quality and Playback in the Great Tit M.M. Lambrechts. Mechanisms and Function of Call-Timing in Male-Male Interactions in Frogs G.M. Klump, H.C. Gerhardt. Measuring Responses of Female Birds to Male Song W.A. Searcy. Field Experiments on the Perception of Song Types by Birds A.G. Horn. 2 additional articles. Index.

Playback and Studies of Animal Communication

Male bird song may attract and stimulate females and may repel males, but the evidence that song is essential for accomplishing these “main functions” is not abundant. Correlations between male song traits (such as repertoire size or singing rate) and components of fitness reveal that important information, perhaps about overall male quality, is available for listeners. To determine whether birds use that information, however, will require researchers to manipulate song traits independently of male quality. Having then determined more rigorously the “current utility” of song, we will more clearly be able to infer how selection has shaped particular song traits. We envision progress in understanding the function(s) of bird song if investigators 1) thoroughly describe natural events, 2) use lucidly stated, multiple working hypotheses, 3) realize the potential differences in song function among divergent taxonomic units, 4) transcend correlational studies by doing ingenious manipulative experiments, and 5) reason carefully when developing scenarios of evolutionary origin.

The Function(s) of Bird Song

This study investigated the effect of a highway with dense traffic on the quality of adjacent habitats for the willow warbler Phylloscopus trochilus. In the zone of 0-200 m from the highway (road zone) the density of territorial males was much lower (2.1 ha −1 ) than in zones with a comparable habitat at a greater distance (3.3 ha −1 ). The lower density in the road zone was due to a low presence of older males. As a consequence, the proportion of yearling males in the road zone was about 50% higher than in the other zones. Yearling males occupied their territories in the road zone later than in the other zones. In the road zone the proportion of successful yearling males was about 50% lower than in the other zones. No difference was observed in the number of nestlings per male

The Effects of Car Traffic on Breeding Bird Populations in Woodland. I. Evidence of Reduced Habitat Quality for Willow Warblers (Phylloscopus trochilus) Breeding Close to a Highway

Long-distance bird migration is expensive, and individuals in prime condition are therefore expected to arrive at the breeding grounds earlier than the average individual in the population. We tested whether arrival date during spring migration was associated with low parasite burden and strong T-cell-dependent immune response in populations of the transequatorially migrating Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica from Denmark, Italy, and Spain. Male Barn Swallows with heavy infestations of the chewing louse Hirundoecus malleus L. arrived later than other males, whereas that was not the case for females. This negative relationship remained after controlling the relationship between parasite load and arrival for tail length. Infection with blood parasites of the species Haemoproteus prognei was associated with delayed arrival in the Spanish population, which was the only one with a high prevalence of blood parasites. High intensities of infestation with a commensal feather mite were associated with early arrival by females, but also by males when the independent relationship between tail length and intensity of mite infestation was controlled statistically. Experimental manipulation of nest infestation with the hematophagous mite Ornithonyssus bursa Berlese affected the arrival date of adult males, but not of females in the following year, with arrival date being inversely related to the experimental mite population size. Males with strong T-cell responses arrived earlier than males with weak responses, independent of their tail length in two of three populations, but there was no significant relationship in females. These findings are in accordance with predictions based on the hypothesis that bird migration is dependent on condition, with individuals in prime condition arriving early.

http://phthiraptera.info/sites/phthiraptera.info/files/45345.pdf

Parasitism, immunity, and arrival date in a migratory bird, the barn swallow

Song rate and pair formation in the willow warbler, Phylloscopus trochilus

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Song rate and pair formation in the willow warbler, Phylloscopus trochilus