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Seasonal patterns of singing activity vary with time of day in the nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos)

Amrhein, V. and Kunc, H. P. and Naguib, M.. (2004) Seasonal patterns of singing activity vary with time of day in the nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos). The auk, Vol. 121, H. 1. pp. 110-117.

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Official URL: http://edoc.unibas.ch/dok/A5251742

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Abstract

Seasonal patterns of singing activity of male birds have been thoroughly studied, but little is known about how those patterns vary with time of day. Here, we censused mated and unmated male Nightingales (Luscinia megarhynchos) at four different hours of the day throughout the breeding cycle. In unmated males, singing activity increased until the young hatched in their neighborhood, and the seasonal variation was similar at each of the four hours of the day. In mated males, however, the seasonal patterns of singing activity differed between hours of the day. In morning (about the hour of egg-laying) and during the dusk chorus, the singing activity of mated males was strongly influenced by the females' reproductive state: singing activity was low before egg-laying and during incubation, but high during the egg-laying period. In the dawn chorus, however, singing activity showed a similar seasonal pattern in mated and unmated males and was high until late stages of the breeding cycle. Our results suggest that the social context influences singing behavior to a varying degree across the season, and that this variation also depends on time of day. The hour of data collection thus is an important but often neglected factor when seasonal changes of singing activity are studied.
Faculties and Departments:05 Faculty of Science > Departement Umweltwissenschaften > Integrative Biologie > Behavioural Ecology (Amrhein)
UniBasel Contributors:Amrhein, Valentin
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:Allen Press
ISSN:0004-8038
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
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Last Modified:22 Mar 2012 14:28
Deposited On:22 Mar 2012 14:02

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