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Is Immediate Flexibility Present In A Vocal Mimic, The Gray Catbird (Dumetella Carolinensis), Across An Urban Gradient?, Shannon K. Eppert

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Increasing urbanization has increased anthropogenic noise levels near developed areas. Urban noise is high amplitude and low-frequency, and these frequencies can overlap with the signals animals use to communicate, including bird songs. Many urban birds sing higher minimum frequencies in urban areas, which avoids some masking by noise, but the mechanism behind this difference is not well understood. Immediate flexibility is the ability to alter song in real-time in the presence of sudden noise, allowing for avoidance of masking and better signal transmission. I investigated if male catbirds increased signal transmission in the presence of anthropogenic versus high-frequency noise playback …