The relative response of songbirds to shifts in song amplitude and song minimum frequency

Anthropogenic noise presents a problem for acoustic communication in animal taxa around the world. Many animals respond by modifying their acoustic signals, sometimes along multiple axes, such as song structure, redundancy, or amplitude. To date, no study has assayed the relative response of animals to multiple axes of signal variation, such as song structure and song amplitude, associated with anthropogenic noise levels. To investigate the impact of multiple potential adaptations to anthropogenic noise on targeted receivers, we manipulated song amplitude and song minimum frequency of white-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) songs. We used a 2 × 2 factorial design of playback experiments to measure male territorial responses to songs that were relatively quiet or loud in relation to typical Z. leucophrys songs and with lower or higher minimum frequencies within the range of natural Z. leucophrys songs. Males responded more strongly to louder songs than to quieter songs and more st...