Project properties
Title Animal Communication: Songbird vocal communication
Group Behavioural Ecology
Project type thesis
Credits 12-36
Supervisor(s) Hugo Loning; Marc Naguib
Examiner(s) Marc Naguib
Contact info hugo.loning@wur.nl; marc.naguib@wur.nl
Begin date 2017/11/01
End date
Description Many bird species sing to attract a partner and to defend a territory, but could there be other functions and how does this work? In this project students will become familiar with theories of communication, the function of signals and with methods in acoustic analyses.

Please reach out to us if you think you want to develop your bioacoustics expertise. We are flexible and many things are possible (some depending on the season and length of thesis):
(1) Analysis of exisiting recordings from several species: zebra finches (for studying individual signatures, variability and timing w. breeding), great tits (can link to personality, breeding) and nightingales (vocal interactions). Do zebra finches signal their breeding status? Why do zebra finches sing in groups and what is the resulting social network? How do birds vary their songs to keep their audience interested?
(2) Obtaining and analysing your own recordings (what is possible will depend on the season) for example to answer how sounds evolve to transmit in a habitat, whether there is convergent evolution in alarm calling, whether birds in groups exhibit vocal decision-making, or your own question.
(3) Conducting your own transmission or playback experiment, for example to see how sounds have (or have not) evolved to transmit over long distances through certain environments, or to see if certain vocalisations also affect non-conspecifics (alarm calling), or your own question.
Used skills
Requirements BSc thesis: Animal Behaviour BHE20303, MSc thesis: Behavioural Ecology BHE30306