Forest-dwelling birds can decode degraded songs down to a minimal core code

Evidence

All the information present in an acoustic signal (song or call) could appear necessary for communication. In reality, the background noise, the masking effect, and interference with other subjects can reduce the efficiency of this acoustic message. Mathevon and Aubin (2001) have tested in the blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) the hypothesis that in some songs the meaning of the message is not lost when the song structure is degraded. In this species, the male responds even to a highly manipulated model of conspecific song. The reply is suspended when frequency modulation is suppressed or the number of syllables is reduced drastically. In terms of code biology, a receiver male when a manipulated song is administrated is able to intercept the fundamental code that persists. In other words, the capacity showed by the blackcap male to decode the conspecific song even when manipulated could represent an adaptation to transmitting acoustic signals in a forest environment where these signals are degraded by vegetation. — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology, 650

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Acoustic codes carry messages robustly enough to survive partial signal loss — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 804; Birds react to close conspecific songs and ignore distant degraded ones — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 613; Playing degraded speech after its clear version primes listeners toward intelligibility — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 4371 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Playing degraded speech after its clear version primes listeners toward intelligibility #expands (0.75) — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 4371
• Human hearing evolved to decode natural sounds beyond speech or music #expands (0.72) — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 23