Affiliation:
1. Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, 165 00 Prague, Czech Republic
Abstract
Individually distinct acoustic signals, produced mainly as tonal and harmonic sounds, have been recorded in many species; however, non-tonal ‘noisy’ signals have received little attention or have not been studied in detail. The capercaillies (Tetrao urogallus) produce complex courtship songs composed of non-tonal noisy signals in four discrete phases. We analyzed recordings from 24 captive male capercaillies in breeding centres in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Germany, and songs from wild males in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Estonia to test whether a non-harmonic song can encode individual-specific information. We also analyzed the intra-population variation of the male song from three separate areas: Carpathian (Polish and Czech Beskid), Sumava, and Boreal (boreal range of species distribution). Temporal and frequency characteristics can reliably distinguish capercaillies at the individual level (91.7%). DFA model testing geographic variation assigned 91% of songs to the correct area (Carpathian, Sumava, Boreal). The cluster analysis revealed that males from the Boreal area formed a distinct cluster. Our analysis shows clear geographical patterns among our study males and may provide a valuable marker for identifying inter-population dynamics and could help to characterize the evolutionary histories of wood grouse. We discuss the potential use of this marker as a non-invasive monitoring tool for captive and free-roaming capercaillies.
Funder
European Social Fund
Internal Grant of the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague
Subject
General Veterinary,Animal Science and Zoology
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