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Acoustic individuality in the hissing calls of the male black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix).

ABSTRACT: Acoustic individuality may well play a big role during the mating season of many birds. Black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix) produces two different long-distance calls during mating on leks: rookooing and hissing calls. The first one represents low frequency series of bubbling sounds and the second one represents hissing sound. This hissing represents a signal not produced by the syrinx. We analyzed 426 hissing calls from 24 individuals in Finland and Scotland. We conducted cross-validated discrimination analyses (DFA). The discrimination model classified each call with almost 78% accuracy (conventional result) and the validated DFA revealed 71% output, that is much higher than classification by chance (4%). The most important variables were Frequency 95%, 1st Quartile Frequency, Aggregate Entropy and Duration 90%. We also tested whether between individual variation is higher than within individual variation using PIC (Potential for individual coding) and we found that all acoustic parameters had PIC > 1. We confirmed that hissing call of black grouse is individually distinct. In comparison to the signals produced by the syrinx, non-vocal sounds have been studied rarely and according to our knowledge, this is the second evidence of vocal individuality in avian hissing sounds which are not produced by syrinx. Individuality in the vocalization of the male black grouse may aid females in mating partner selection, and for males it may enable competitor recognition and assessment. Individually distinct hissing calls could be of possible use to monitor individuals on leks. Such a method could overcome problems during traditional monitoring methods of this species, when one individual can be counted multiple times, because catching and traditional marking is problematic in this species.

SUBMITTER: Hambalkova L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8435199 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BACKGROUND: The MHC, which is regarded as the most polymorphic region in the genomes of jawed vertebrates, plays a central role in the immune system by encoding various proteins involved in the immune response. The chicken MHC-B genomic region has a highly streamlined gene content compared to mammalian MHCs. Its core region includes genes encoding Class I and Class IIB molecules but is only ~92Kb in length. Sequences of other galliform MHCs show varying degrees of similarity as that of chicken. The black grouse (Tetrao tetrix) is a wild galliform bird species which is an important model in conservation genetics and ecology. We sequenced the black grouse core MHC-B region and combined this with available data from related species (chicken, turkey, gold pheasant and quail) to perform a comparative genomics study of the galliform MHC. This kind of analysis has previously been severely hampered by the lack of genomic information on avian MHC regions, and the galliformes is still the only bird lineage where such a comparison is possible. RESULTS: In this study, we present the complete genomic sequence of the MHC-B locus of black grouse, which is 88,390 bp long and contains 19 genes. It shows the same simplicity as, and almost perfect synteny with, the corresponding genomic region of chicken. We also use 454-transcriptome sequencing to verify expression in 17 of the black grouse MHC-B genes. Multiple sequence inversions of the TAPBP gene and TAP1-TAP2 gene block identify the recombination breakpoints near the BF and BLB genes. Some of the genes in the galliform MHC-B region also seem to have been affected by selective forces, as inferred from deviating phylogenetic signals and elevated rates of non-synonymous nucleotide substitutions. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that there is large synteny between the MHC-B region of the black grouse and that of other galliform birds, but that some duplications and rearrangements have occurred within this lineage. The MHC-B sequence reported here will provide a valuable resource for future studies on the evolution of the avian MHC genes and on links between immunogenetics and ecology of black grouse.

Project description:As many other wild living species, black grouse Tetrao tetrix has to cope with anthropogenic disturbances in many habitats. Impacts of tourism and outdoor recreation on grouse species Tetraoninae have been subject to several studies in mountainous habitats in Central Europe and the United Kingdom. The geographically isolated and critically endangered black grouse population of Lower Saxony (North Germany) has been consistently monitored but beyond that poorly studied. This also applies to the key habitats of the nature reserve Lüneburg Heath (Lüneburger Heide) which, in turn, serves as a recreational area as well. In this study, the impact of tourism activity on habitat use of black grouse was investigated using data of GPS-tracked individuals. Additionally, visitor numbers on public and (usually undisturbed) closed routes were monitored using infrared light barriers. The spatio-temporal distribution of locations and the recreational activity were evaluated by linear mixed-effects models. Tagged individuals avoided the vicinity of public routes and avoiding distances were directly related to intensity of human activity. There was no seasonal change of black grouse habitat use alongside public routes. However, towards closed routes, significantly higher distances appeared during peak phases of visitor numbers (August and September), implying temporary increased disturbance levels within a key refuge area. Diurnal adaptation of habitat use was strongly dependent on the route density within the home range. Individuals used the vicinity of public trails at night and dawn but evaded these habitats during peak human activity around noon and afternoon. Recreational disturbances appeared to significantly affect the effective habitat availability for black grouse in the nature reserve. Visual cover by vegetation, however, seemed to diminish negative effects emerging from hiking trails. This provides an effective protective measure which requires minimal effort for the local conservation management.

Project description:Non-vocal, or unvoiced, signals surprisingly have received very little attention until recently especially when compared to other acoustic signals. Some sounds made by terrestrial vertebrates are produced not only by the larynx but also by the syrinx. Furthermore, some birds are known to produce several types of non-syrinx sounds. Besides mechanical sounds produced by feathers, bills and/or wings, sounds can be also produced by constriction, anywhere along the pathway from the lungs to the lips or nostrils (in mammals), or to the bill (in birds), resulting in turbulent, aerodynamic sounds. These noises often emulate whispering, snorting or hissing. Even though hissing sounds have been studied in mammals and reptiles, only a few studies have analyzed hissing sounds in birds. Presently, only the hissing of small, nesting passerines as a defense against their respective predators have been studied. We studied hissing in domestic goose. This bird represents a ground nesting non-passerine bird which frequently produces hissing out of the nest in comparison to passerines producing hissing during nesting in holes e.g., parids. Compared to vocally produced alarm calls, almost nothing is known about how non-vocal hissing sounds potentially encode information about a caller's identity. Therefore, we aimed to test whether non-vocal air expirations can encode an individual's identity similar to those sounds generated by the syrinx or the larynx. We analyzed 217 hissing sounds from 22 individual geese. We calculated the Potential for Individual Coding (PIC) comparing the coefficient of variation both within and among individuals. In addition, we conducted a series of 15 a stepwise discriminant function analysis (DFA) models. All 16 acoustic variables showed a higher coefficient of variation among individuals. Twelve DFA models revealed 51.2-54.4% classification result (cross-validated output) and all 15 models showed 60.8-68.2% classification output based on conventional DFA in comparison to a 4.5% success rate when classification by chance. This indicates the stability of the DFA results even when using different combinations of variables. Our findings showed that an individual's identity could be encoded with respect to the energy distribution at the beginning of a signal and the lowest frequencies. Body weight did not influence an individual's sound expression. Recognition of hissing mates in dangerous situations could increase the probability of their surviving via a more efficient anti-predator response.

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Acoustic individuality in the hissing calls of the male black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix).

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