1. Daily and seasonal fluctuation in Tawny Owl vocalization timing
- Author
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Warren H. Meck, Patricia V. Agostino, Guy Peryer, Diego A. Golombek, and Nicholas A. Lusk
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,Male ,Range (biology) ,Social Sciences ,Predation ,Vocalization ,0302 clinical medicine ,Ornithology ,Principal mechanism ,Psychology ,photoperiodism ,Multidisciplinary ,biology ,Animal Behavior ,Eukaryota ,Spring ,Vertebrates ,Medicine ,Seasons ,Research Article ,Photoperiod ,Summer ,Science ,Zoology ,Nocturnal ,Birds ,03 medical and health sciences ,biology.animal ,Circadian Clocks ,Animals ,Animal Physiology ,Circadian rhythm ,Behavior ,Raptors ,Organisms ,Biology and Life Sciences ,Strigiformes ,Owls ,Bird Physiology ,Animal Communication ,030104 developmental biology ,Strix aluco ,Amniotes ,Earth Sciences ,Adaptation ,Vocalization, Animal ,Seasonal Variations ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
A robust adaptation to environmental changes is vital for survival. Almost all living organisms have a circadian timing system that allows adjusting their physiology to cyclic variations in the surrounding environment. Among vertebrates, many birds are also seasonal species, adapting their physiology to annual changes in photoperiod (amplitude, length and duration). Tawny Owls (Strix aluco) are nocturnal birds of prey that use vocalization as their principal mechanism of communication. Diurnal and seasonal changes in vocalization have been described for several vocal species, including songbirds. Comparable studies are lacking for owls. In the present work, we show that male Tawny Owls present a periodic vocalization pattern in the seconds-to-minutes range that is subject to both daily (early vs. late night) and seasonal (spring vs. summer) rhythmicity. These novel theory-generating findings appear to extend the role of the circadian system in regulating temporal events in the seconds-to-minutes range to other species.
- Published
- 2020