Geographic Variation in Note Types of Alarm Calls in Japanese Tits (<i>Parus minor</i>)
Li Zhang,
Jiangping Yu,
Chao Shen,
Dake Yin,
Longru Jin,
Wei Liang,
Haitao Wang
Affiliations
Li Zhang
Jilin Engineering Laboratory for Avian Ecology and Conservation Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
Jiangping Yu
Jilin Engineering Laboratory for Avian Ecology and Conservation Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
Chao Shen
Jilin Engineering Laboratory for Avian Ecology and Conservation Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
Dake Yin
Jilin Engineering Laboratory for Avian Ecology and Conservation Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
Longru Jin
Jilin Engineering Laboratory for Avian Ecology and Conservation Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
Wei Liang
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China
Haitao Wang
Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
Geographic variability in acoustic signals has been documented in many bird species. However, geographic variations in alarm calls have been so far neglected despite their crucial role on reducing risk to group members and relatives. We analyzed the note types and acoustic parameters of Japanese tit (Parus minor) alarm calls to three types of intruders (a nest predator, an adult predator, and a harmless species) from three populations in China. Our results revealed that tits in the same population produce similar note types to different intruders, but the three populations only shared six note types and each population had unique note types. The frequency and duration parameters of three shared common note types were significantly different among populations. The three populations belong to the same species, thus they have shared note types. We suspect that the unique note types occurring in each population may be related to three potential reasons: founder effect, predation pressure, and vocal learning. The differences in acoustic parameters of common notes among populations may be a consequence of adaptations to their environments. We suggest that population differences in the note levels of bird alarm calls do exist.
