Abstract
In the dense vegetation of temperate or tropical forests, communication processes are constrained by propagation-induced modifications of the transmitted sounds. The presence of leaves, trunks and branches induces important sound reverberation and absorption leading to diminution of the signal energy as well as qualitative modifications. The aim of this paper is to briefly review the different strategies used by birds to manage with these constraints. At the emitter's level, an adapted emission behavior which takes into account both the physical heterogeneities of the forest environment and the temporal variations of the acoustic constraints, is especially useful to control the active space of signaling. The coding of information into acoustic parameters that have different susceptibility to propagation constraints is also of great interest. At the receiver's level, an adaptive reception behavior (listening post) and a great tolerance to sound degradation during the decoding process are the keys to an optimal communication process.
Highlights
Communication, i.e. signal-based information transfer between individuals, supports social relationships in animals
In the dense vegetation of temperate or tropical forests, communication processes are constrained by propagation-induced modifications of the transmitted sounds
At the emitter’s level, an adapted emission behavior which takes into account both the physical heterogeneities of the forest environment and the temporal variations of the acoustic constraints, is especially useful to control the active space of signaling
Summary
Communication, i.e. signal-based information transfer between individuals, supports social relationships in animals. In the dense vegetation of forests, communication processes are constrained by propagation-induced modifications of the transmitted sounds The presence of tree leaves, trunks and branches induces important sound reverberation and absorption. This degradation leads to a diminution of the signal energy that may cause the signals to disappear in the background noise. Some of them are imposed by the propagation channel (e.g. vegetation density, temperature, hygrometry, wind, vocalizations of other animals), while others are linked to intrinsic characteristics of the bird (intensity of the emitted signal, temporal and spectral features of the sound), and still others are controlled by the bird’s behavior itself (e.g. perching and horizontal movements)
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