Acoustic frequencies and body mass in New World doves

BETTINA MAHLER; P. L. TUBARO

The Condor

Cooper Ornithological Society

Año: 1998 vol. 100 p. 54 - 61

We studied the acoustic frequencies contained in the songs of 44 species of New World doves of eight genera in relation to body mass and habitat structure. On each sonogram, maximum (MAX), minimum (MIN), emphasized frequency (ENF), and frequency bandwidth (BAND = MAX - MIN) were measured. Log-transformed frequencies and body mass data were subjected to a comparative analysis of independent contrast, using Goodwin’s (1983) phylogeny. We show the existence of a negative relationship among frequencies and body mass, irrespective of the model of character evolution chosen. Similar results were obtained in raw contrast comparisons among 13 pairs of closely related species. Residuals of variation in song frequencies, after control for the effect of body mass and phylogeny, differed among habitats. In particular, closed habitat species use significantly higher MAX than their more open habitat relatives. This pattern contrasts with the one reported in studies based on community-wide comparisons, which in general do not correct song data for phylogeny and body mass, or include oscine species.