The Influence of Landscape Configuration On ‘Ōma‘o (Myadestes obscurus) Song Diversity

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2018-06
Authors
Fernandez, Nicole
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Hart, Patrick J.
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Tropical Conservation Biology & Environmental Science
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Abstract
In many species, acoustic communication in the form of songs is a learned behavior that can be culturally transmitted throughout a population and passed down from one generation to the next. Through time songs can change when populations become isolated from one another, creating dialects that are distinct to a population. Geographic barriers and habitat fragmentation are isolating mechanisms that can influence differences in songs between populations. In this study, I characterized and analyzed songs of the ‘ōma‘o in a continuous and fragmented landscape to determine how landscape variables influence song differences between populations. In a fragmented landscape I chose five fragments of different sizes and distance to record song in and in a continuous forest I chose three stations that were 300 meters apart to record ‘ōma‘o song. I performed a correlation test to determine if there was a relationship between fragment size and total syllables and also between unique syllable and degree of isolation. I also did a mantel test to determine if distance had an influence on song similarity. The results indicated that songs from larger landscape fragments tended to have higher syllable diversity, and neither connectivity nor distance was related to the number of unique syllables found within a fragment. Overall, the results suggest that ‘ōma‘o songs are highly variable at the individual level and that there may even be little to no syllable sharing within and among populations.
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Conservation biology, Acoustics, Ecology, Bird Vocalization, Habitat Fragmentation, Hawaiian Thrush, Omao
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25 pages
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