Caitlin Kight

University of Exeter | UoE · Academic Development

Ambient noise can affect the availability of acoustic information to animals, altering both foraging and vigilance behaviour. Using captive zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata, we examined the effect of ambient broadband noise on foraging decisions. Birds were given a choice between foraging in a quiet area where conspecific calls could be heard or a...

Patch hoice data. Individual’s initial choice of test chamber for each trial. (TXT)

Model selection table for proportion of time spent in a treatments, in relation to treatment type, bird age and trial number. Full model and all models within Δ2 AICc of the top model are displayed. Most parsimonious model is highlighted in bold. (PDF)

Spectrogram of a section of the noise used in experiments [64]. (TIFF)

Model selection table for proportion of time spent foraging in treatments, in relation to treatment type, bird age and trial number. Full model and all models within Δ2 AICc of the top model are displayed. Most parsimonious model is highlighted in bold. (PDF)

Time budget data. Time spent in different activities in different treatment types, for each trial. (TXT)

Model selection table for probability of bird first entering a quiet chamber, in relation to bird age and trial number. Full model and all models within Δ2 AICc of the top model are displayed. Most parsimonious model is highlighted in bold. (PDF)

Model selection table for proportion of time spent vigilant in treatments, in relation to treatment type, bird age and trial number. Full model and all models within Δ2 AICc of the top model are displayed. Most parsimonious model is highlighted in bold. (PDF)

Ocean currents, landscape features, towns, universities, wildlife: these are only a few of the many things named after the polymath Alexander von Humboldt, widely known and respected as the ‘most scientific man of his age’, to quote American president Thomas Jefferson. Today, von Humboldt’s is no longer the household name it once was, despite his s...

Vocal responses to anthropogenic noise have been documented in several species of songbird. However, only a few studies have investigated whether these adjustments are made in "real time" or are longer-term responses to particular soundscapes. Furthermore, increased ambient noise often is accompanied by structural changes to the habitat, including...

In many species of animals individual behaviour differs, yet is consistent over time and in an array of different environments; in other words, these animals display ‘personality’ variation. This may emerge not by chance, but, instead, is shaped by selective processes favouring individuals who display a differentiated behavioural phenotype. Indeed,...

Although previous studies have related variations in environmental noise levels with alterations in communication behaviors of birds, little work has investigated the potential long-term implications of living or breeding in noisy habitats. However, noise has the potential to reduce fitness, both directly (because it is a physiological stressor) an...

Human-altered landscapes often include structural features, such as higher levels of impervious surface cover (ISC) and less vegetation, that are likely to affect the transmission of avian vocalizations. We investigated the relationships between human habitat modifications and signal transmission by measuring four acoustic parameters—persistence, r...

Increasing evidence suggests that anthropogenic noise from urbanization affects animal acoustic communication. We investigated whether the begging calls of nestling Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) varied along a disturbance gradient of ambient noise. Contrary to our prediction and the results of a previous study of nestling Tree Swallows (Tachyci...

Understanding the role of green space in urban—suburban landscapes is becoming critical for bird conservation because of rampant habitat loss and conversion. Although not natural habitat, golf courses could play a role in bird conservation if they support breeding populations of some native species, yet scientists remain skeptical. In 2003–2009, we...

Ecology Letters (2011) 14: 1052–1061 The scope and magnitude of anthropogenic noise pollution are often much greater than those of natural noise and are predicted to have an array of deleterious effects on wildlife. Recent work on this topic has focused mainly on behavioural responses of animals exposed to noise. Here, by outlining the effects of a...

Introduction Uncertainty is an unavoidable product of any encounter between two or more animals. Although the level of uncertainty may vary as a function of many factors – including species, sex, age and condition – even at its minimum it still presents a challenge that must be overcome over the course of every animal’s life (Dall, 2010). This proc...

To predict the long-term consequences of increasing human activity and environmental disturbance on natural populations, it is imperative to understand how human activity relates to fitness variation in wild populations. Here, we report associations of avian fitness metrics with multivariate indices of human activity and bird behavioral responses i...

Thesis (M.S.)--College of William and Mary, 2005. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-94).