Effects of personality on vocal responses to alternating and overlapping playback in Great Tits

Individuals often differ consistently across time and contexts and such consistent behavioural differences are commonly described as personality. Studies on Great Tits Parus major have demonstrated that animal personality is heritable and context-dependant. Yet, so far the relationship between avian...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bioacoustics (Berkhamsted) 2012-02, Vol.21 (1), p.25-26
Main Authors: Amy, M, Sprau, P, Goede, P, Naguib, M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acoustics
Bioacoustics
Communication
Intruder
Parus major
Personality
Playback
Song
Territory
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Summary:Individuals often differ consistently across time and contexts and such consistent behavioural differences are commonly described as personality. Studies on Great Tits Parus major have demonstrated that animal personality is heritable and context-dependant. Yet, so far the relationship between avian personality and acoustic communication has not been examined even though it may account for the striking inter-individual variation in signalling. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the personality of resident male Great Tits influences their vocal responses according to the timing of song of simulated intruders. Personality was determined by taking all subjects several weeks prior to playback from the wild for one day to the lab to test their behaviour in a standard context. Using interactive playback, we engaged birds in a vocal interaction with a simulated intruder in their territory. The playback intruder either overlapped or alternated the subjects' songs. We will discuss how male vocal responses vary according to male personality.
ISSN:0952-4622