Daily and seasonal use of vocalizations by nesting black‐tailed godwits
Ground‐nesting shorebirds must balance the need for acoustic communication at the nest with the constant threat posed by predators. Although it may seem likely that their calls are adapted to minimize detection by predators, little is known about how these birds communicate at the nest or whether th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Journal of Avian Biology |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1111/jav.03362 |
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| author | Ondřej Belfín Bart Kempenaers Theunis Piersma |
| author_facet | Ondřej Belfín Bart Kempenaers Theunis Piersma |
| author_sort | Ondřej Belfín |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ground‐nesting shorebirds must balance the need for acoustic communication at the nest with the constant threat posed by predators. Although it may seem likely that their calls are adapted to minimize detection by predators, little is known about how these birds communicate at the nest or whether they employ cryptic strategies to avoid predation. Using passive acoustic devices and software to analyse extensive acoustic data, we quantified and categorised the calls of black‐tailed godwits Limosa limosa limosa recorded throughout the whole incubation at eight nests at a dairy farm in the Netherlands in March–June 2021. While incubating, godwits frequently use five main call types, with distinct diurnal patterns and high variation in the number of calls between breeding pairs. Birds used two quiet calls, one for communication at the nest and a second without an easily suggested meaning. Three loud calls were presumably used for predator alert, territory establishment, and long‐range communication. Interestingly, although nests were close to each other and exposed to the same aerial predators, the involvement of incubating birds in predator alert calling consistently differed. Furthermore, we described the relationship between the number of predator alert calls and the probability of a godwit flying off the nest. Our findings show that incubating godwits predominantly use loud vocalizations during the day, with only a few calls at night, which were more frequent on nights with a full moon. These descriptive findings for a single godwit community should now be expanded to other contexts, experimental situations, and shorebird species. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-843e8be806f94b9eb81edc212df4ab8a |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0908-8857 1600-048X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Avian Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-843e8be806f94b9eb81edc212df4ab8a2025-08-20T02:29:39ZengWileyJournal of Avian Biology0908-88571600-048X2025-03-0120252n/an/a10.1111/jav.03362Daily and seasonal use of vocalizations by nesting black‐tailed godwitsOndřej Belfín0Bart Kempenaers1Theunis Piersma2Rudi Drent Chair in Global Flyway Ecology, Ecology and Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen Groningen NetherlandsDepartment of Ornithology, Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence Seewiesen GermanyRudi Drent Chair in Global Flyway Ecology, Ecology and Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen Groningen NetherlandsGround‐nesting shorebirds must balance the need for acoustic communication at the nest with the constant threat posed by predators. Although it may seem likely that their calls are adapted to minimize detection by predators, little is known about how these birds communicate at the nest or whether they employ cryptic strategies to avoid predation. Using passive acoustic devices and software to analyse extensive acoustic data, we quantified and categorised the calls of black‐tailed godwits Limosa limosa limosa recorded throughout the whole incubation at eight nests at a dairy farm in the Netherlands in March–June 2021. While incubating, godwits frequently use five main call types, with distinct diurnal patterns and high variation in the number of calls between breeding pairs. Birds used two quiet calls, one for communication at the nest and a second without an easily suggested meaning. Three loud calls were presumably used for predator alert, territory establishment, and long‐range communication. Interestingly, although nests were close to each other and exposed to the same aerial predators, the involvement of incubating birds in predator alert calling consistently differed. Furthermore, we described the relationship between the number of predator alert calls and the probability of a godwit flying off the nest. Our findings show that incubating godwits predominantly use loud vocalizations during the day, with only a few calls at night, which were more frequent on nights with a full moon. These descriptive findings for a single godwit community should now be expanded to other contexts, experimental situations, and shorebird species.https://doi.org/10.1111/jav.03362breedingcommunicationcooperationLimosa limosanest predation |
| spellingShingle | Ondřej Belfín Bart Kempenaers Theunis Piersma Daily and seasonal use of vocalizations by nesting black‐tailed godwits Journal of Avian Biology breeding communication cooperation Limosa limosa nest predation |
| title | Daily and seasonal use of vocalizations by nesting black‐tailed godwits |
| title_full | Daily and seasonal use of vocalizations by nesting black‐tailed godwits |
| title_fullStr | Daily and seasonal use of vocalizations by nesting black‐tailed godwits |
| title_full_unstemmed | Daily and seasonal use of vocalizations by nesting black‐tailed godwits |
| title_short | Daily and seasonal use of vocalizations by nesting black‐tailed godwits |
| title_sort | daily and seasonal use of vocalizations by nesting black tailed godwits |
| topic | breeding communication cooperation Limosa limosa nest predation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1111/jav.03362 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ondrejbelfin dailyandseasonaluseofvocalizationsbynestingblacktailedgodwits AT bartkempenaers dailyandseasonaluseofvocalizationsbynestingblacktailedgodwits AT theunispiersma dailyandseasonaluseofvocalizationsbynestingblacktailedgodwits |