Animal long-distance calls evolve to match habitat acoustics
Evidence
The acoustic adaptation hypothesis (AAH) is based on the assumption that the sounds used in long-distance communication are correlated with habitat acoustics. This hypothesis, first formulated by Morton (1975) on birds, states that dominant frequencies and other long-distance calls are the result of an interaction between the animals and the environment to maximize the transmission efficiency of the emitted sounds. In this way different habitats interfere differently, according to the sound frequency bands, and callers try to occupy the frequency bands that have lower degradation. This consideration holds not only for sounds in air but also sounds in the waters of the open ocean. — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology, 409
Categorization
- DEFINE: Defines AAH (Morton 1975): signals evolve to maximize transmission in the habitat’s least-degrading frequency bands; extends to open ocean.
- recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source
- XREF: connects to: Forest birds favor pure tones around 2,200 Hz where attenuation is lowest — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 422; The acoustic adaptation hypothesis finds only modest, inconsistent empirical support — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 460; Sound functions as an ecological resource organisms track for survival — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 248 (+6 more)
Broader Connections
- Habitat structure drives the evolution of animal vocal signals
#corroborates(0.95) — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology, 494