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Yellowhammer dialects and citizen science
Diblíková, Lucie ; Petrusková, Tereza (advisor) ; Linhart, Pavel (referee) ; Osiejuk, Tomasz S. (referee)
Bird dialects, the cultural phenomena that can be linked to migration, gene flow, speciation and cultural evolution, have been studied extensively. The yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella, a common European bird with a simple song and long singing season, has been a model species for studying dialects for decades. In this thesis, I collate several studies that benefited from citizen science approaches to push this field forward. First, we have compiled and unified information on yellowhammer dialect distribution scattered in numerous publications, and unified different dialect nomenclatures used in the past. We supplemented this with data available thanks to volunteers contributing to public databases and other online sources, and demonstrated that the continental distribution patterns of yellowhammer dialects do not support the existence of broad, geographically distinct macrodialect groups as previously believed. In 2011, as part of the Bird of the Year campaign of the Czech Society of Ornithology, we launched a year-long public awareness project "Dialects of Czech Yellowhammers". Its first year's results exceeded expectations in quality and quantity, so a one-year, conservation-focused citizen science project became a long-term, investigative one. In subsequent years, improvements to the web user...
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Use of individual acoustic monitoring to study endangered species - case study on the Meadow Pipit
Helmbold, Lily Carolin ; Petrusková, Tereza (advisor) ; Beran, Václav (referee)
1 Abstract Monitoring is an essential part and prerequisite for successful conservation measures. Methods used for decades for bird monitoring provide information about species richness and partly use acoustic signals, an important communication tool not only for birds. Unique features of song allow idividual identification, but this knowledge has not yet been captured by traditional monitoring methods, but it is very important for a deeper understanding of the ecology of monitored animals. To identify individuals based on vocalisation, science is increasingly turning to a method called individual acoustic monitoring (IAM), based on unique differences in vocalisation. IAM has so far been used for simpler songs, but its applicability to complex vocalizations would be a valuable complement to traditional monitoring methods. In this paper I therefore address the question of the applicability of individual acoustic monitoring for on-site conservation measures. The study was conducted on a model species of songbird, the meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis), and individuality in song was assessed by subjective analysis of the syllable repertoires of singing males. This is an alternative approach that considers shape similarity instead of discrete syllable values. A total of 168 singing males of three European...
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Variabilita reprodukčních parametrů vybraných druhů sov.
TOMEŠOVÁ, Andrea
This bachelor thesis is focused on reproductive parameters of three owl species: Long-eared owl (Asio otus), Tengmalm´s owl (Aegolius funereus) and Tawny owl (Strix aluco). The main goal is to find information about breeding of this species, compare their reproductive parameters and find out if longitude, latitude and main habitat type have some impact on their reproductive parameters.
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Geographical variation of localisation in vertebrates
Cinerová, Michaela ; Petrusková, Tereza (advisor) ; Turčoková, Lucia (referee)
Sound expressing is common for a big amount of animal species, mostly when communicating with individuals of their own or other species. Acoustic communication can be used especially in situations or in the environment where an individual does not see a signal receiver well (confusing environment, at night or long distance). It's well-known that the individual species have their own characteristic acoustic expressions. However, these can differ also within the species itself, either in time or in space. This study is concerned just with variability of inter-species vocal communication of all vertebrates in space. Its purpose is to map at which animal species vocalization vary in space. Furthermore, it deals with searching for causes of origin of this variability, such as genetic differences among particular groups of populations, environmental and learning effects etc. within various animal species. In the last part, it tries to answer the question whether the spatial variability of acoustic signals could influence separation of new species and thus have evolutionary consequences.
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Yellowhammer as a model species for studies on passerine dialects
Diblíková, Lucie ; Petrusková, Tereza (advisor) ; Procházka, Petr (referee)
Even though birdsongs and bird dialects have been subject to considerably intense scientific research, the domain of bird dialects is still worth attention of scientists. There is a large number of hypotheses about the emergence of bird dialects which separately or combined explain their origin. Dialects can be classified on the basis of the structure of a birdsong which they are related to or according to a geographical scale (micro and macrodialects). Research on bird dialects belongs to such type of studies that require great amount of data and thus large amount of time and finance is needed. Nonetheless, this obstacle can be avoided by involving general public into the research, however choosing a suitable model species is necessary. Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella), which was chosen in this study, is undoubtedly a convenient species for its common occurrence and distinguishable birdsong. Yellowhammer males sing during a large part of the season and their dialects can be easily recognized. Moreover, some scientists differentiate between macrodialects, that should be divided across western and eastern Europe, and could be used to make the research more attractive for general public. Till now yellowhammer dialects have been thoroughly explored in Denmark and in some parts of Germany, but in other...
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Morphological variation of Cameroonian sunbirds
Bovšková, Denisa ; Hořák, David (advisor) ; Chmelová, Eliška (referee)
5 Abstract Morphological traits give information about the adaptations of the studied species, the resources, which it uses, and they can generally tell us about the use of ecological space. Intraspecific morphological variability reflects various adaptations of local populations thus variability reflect different way of life. The subject of this thesis is an ecologically interesting group of specialized tropical songbirds - Sunbirds (Nectarinidae). The taxon exhibits number of adaptations to specific food collecting a combination of nectarivory and insect hunting. I focused here on the intraspecific variability of three species (Cyanomitra oritis, Cinnyris reichenowi and C. bouwieri) living in different habitats in Cameroon. The aim of this work was to find out in what morphological characters are this species sexually dimorphic. Furthermore, if their populations living in remote locations differ? Finally, if all studied species show similar trend of intraspecific variability of the traits, which could have common ecological causes. The following traits were measured: wing and tail feather length, beak dimensions, total body weight and other characters. The analysis is based on field data collected between 2003 and 2015 and museum collections. Overall, we collect information about ca. 1200 individuals for...
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Morphological variation of Cameroonian sunbirds
Bovšková, Denisa ; Hořák, David (advisor) ; Chmelová, Eliška (referee)
5 Abstract Morphological traits give information about the adaptations of the studied species, the resources, which it uses, and they can generally tell us about the use of ecological space. Intraspecific morphological variability reflects various adaptations of local populations thus variability reflect different way of life. The subject of this thesis is an ecologically interesting group of specialized tropical songbirds - Sunbirds (Nectarinidae). The taxon exhibits number of adaptations to specific food collecting a combination of nectarivory and insect hunting. I focused here on the intraspecific variability of three species (Cyanomitra oritis, Cinnyris reichenowi and C. bouwieri) living in different habitats in Cameroon. The aim of this work was to find out in what morphological characters are this species sexually dimorphic. Furthermore, if their populations living in remote locations differ? Finally, if all studied species show similar trend of intraspecific variability of the traits, which could have common ecological causes. The following traits were measured: wing and tail feather length, beak dimensions, total body weight and other characters. The analysis is based on field data collected between 2003 and 2015 and museum collections. Overall, we collect information about ca. 1200 individuals for...
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Among-population variability in yellowhammer songs: causes and consequences
Bílková, Jana ; Petrusková, Tereza (advisor) ; Reif, Jiří (referee)
The inter-population geographic song variability can be found in many bird species. One of the most interesting types are dialects, characterized by sharp boundaries between populations of individuals sharing the same particular song type. Despite many years of investigation there is no satisfactory answer to the question how these borders persist over the years at nearly same sites. Distinctions between dialects allow recognition of males from different populations and could influence the territorial behaviour. Various habitats, however, degrade the sound differently; it is therefore possible that specific habitats are preferred by individuals with specific dialects. Both social interactions and acoustic properties of the locality could also be only secondary factors and the dialect distribution could be the result of the habitat distribution either in present or in recent past. In this diploma thesis, several hypotheses were tested on the example of Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) - a songbird abundant in open land with simple song and easily recognizable dialects. The thorough data concerning the habitats and dialect distribution were obtained at the dialect borders at two localities in Czech Republic. The reactions of territorial males to both foreign and their own dialects were also...
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Environment and avian song: case of South African birds
Mikula, Peter ; Albrecht, Tomáš (advisor) ; Linhart, Pavel (referee)
Relationship between animal signalization and environmental conditions, where these species are living, is one of crucial topics of ecology. Using two complementary statistical approaches (fourth-corner and RLQ analyzes) I investigated geographical variation in parameters of bird vocalization in South Africa (RSA) and Lesotho. Altogether, I used nine quantitative and five qualitative acoustic traits for 472 bird species and nine environmental variables which could significantly influence parameters of their vocalization. My results supported findings of previous studies about the important effect of body size on species-specific vocal characteristics. In passerines, analyzes corrected for body size showed that the number of elements and element types were increasing with variability of natural conditions and were highest in very arid and climatically unpredictable areas. Element and element type rate were positively associated with altitude. Minimal song frequency in passerines and frequency range of vocalization in other birds were negatively correlated with average temperature of warmest and coldest month of the year, respectively. Similarly, environmental variables significantly influenced distribution of several qualitative song traits in passerines. Passerines, where female song and...
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Geographical variation of localisation in vertebrates
Cinerová, Michaela ; Petrusková, Tereza (advisor) ; Turčoková, Lucia (referee)
Sound expressing is common for a big amount of animal species, mostly when communicating with individuals of their own or other species. Acoustic communication can be used especially in situations or in the environment where an individual does not see a signal receiver well (confusing environment, at night or long distance). It's well-known that the individual species have their own characteristic acoustic expressions. However, these can differ also within the species itself, either in time or in space. This study is concerned just with variability of inter-species vocal communication of all vertebrates in space. Its purpose is to map at which animal species vocalization vary in space. Furthermore, it deals with searching for causes of origin of this variability, such as genetic differences among particular groups of populations, environmental and learning effects etc. within various animal species. In the last part, it tries to answer the question whether the spatial variability of acoustic signals could influence separation of new species and thus have evolutionary consequences.
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