On the relationship between, and measurement of, amplitude and frequency in birdsong

Abstract

A growing number of studies ask whether and how bird songs vary between areas with low versus high levels of anthropogenic noise. Across numerous species, birds are seen to sing at higher frequencies in urban versus rural populations, presumably because of selection for higher-pitched songs in the face of low-frequency urban noise, or because birds can avoid masking directly by shifting to higher-frequency sounds (Fernandez-Juricic et al. 2005; Slabbekoorn & den Boer-Visser 2006; Nemeth & Brumm 2009; Gross et al. 2010; Potvin et al. 2010). In addition to changing song frequency, birds are also reported to respond to increased background noise by singing at higher amplitudes (Brumm & Zollinger 2011). Nightingales, Luscinia megarhynchos, for example, sing with a higher sound pressure level in areas with intense traffic noise as compared to quieter locations (Brumm 2004). While frequencyand amplitude-based responses to ambient noise are often considered independently, the twomight also vary in tandem