Studying avian VOCAL MIMICRY, SONG AND DANCE, and cultural evolution, at scale!
In our lab we work on a broad range of projects focusing on the behavioural ecology of the Superb and the Albert's lyrebird, and their close relatives.
As part of this work, since 2014, we have systematically collected >70 terabytes of passive acoustic recordings combined with videos from camera traps from both species throughout their ranges. These high-quality audio-visual data provide us with a wealth of information on vocal mimicry, multimodal signalling, and the patterns and processes of cultural evolution. We examine these topics within and between sexes, populations, and species. See below for an overview of the projects related to this work, and for our publications, see here! |
Animal cultures and anthropogenic change
Chief investigator: Dr Anastasia Dalziell
Collaborator: Prof Justin Welbergen (HIE)
Support: Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (start 2024)
Project ID: DE240101131
Contact: A Dalziell
This project aims to investigate the impacts of anthropogenic change on the elaborate song cultures of declining Australian songbirds. Culture is fundamental to the biology of social animals, and has profound implications for biodiversity conservation; however, the drivers of animal cultural change are unclear. This project will analyse how lyrebird song cultures respond to anthropogenic environmental change, including Australia’s 2019-20 megafires. Furthermore, it will assess the mechanisms linking environmental and cultural change, and examine the utility of
vocal cultures as bioindicators of ecological health. This project will advance fundamental research in animal culture and enhance the conservation of cultural diversity in the wild.
Chief investigator: Dr Anastasia Dalziell
Collaborator: Prof Justin Welbergen (HIE)
Support: Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (start 2024)
Project ID: DE240101131
Contact: A Dalziell
This project aims to investigate the impacts of anthropogenic change on the elaborate song cultures of declining Australian songbirds. Culture is fundamental to the biology of social animals, and has profound implications for biodiversity conservation; however, the drivers of animal cultural change are unclear. This project will analyse how lyrebird song cultures respond to anthropogenic environmental change, including Australia’s 2019-20 megafires. Furthermore, it will assess the mechanisms linking environmental and cultural change, and examine the utility of
vocal cultures as bioindicators of ecological health. This project will advance fundamental research in animal culture and enhance the conservation of cultural diversity in the wild.
Vocal mimicry in songbirds
Chief investigators: Prof Justin Welbergen (HIE); Dr Anastasia Dalziell (HIE); Prof Rob Magrath (Australian National University)
Partner investigators: Assoc Prof Jo Madden (University of Exeter); Dr Karan Odom (University of the Pacific)
Collaborators: Prof Naomi Langmore (Australian National University), Dr Fiona Backhouse (Cornell Lab of Ornithology; HIE)
Support: ARC Discovery Project (start 2024)
Project ID: DP240102490
Contact: J Welbergen
Many of the world’s largest clade of birds - the songbirds - incorporate vocal mimicry in their songs, but while scientific interest in vocal mimicry dates from Aristotle, limited progress has been made. With our unique research program we aim to provide an empirically based, theoretically informed understanding of avian vocal mimicry. In an important advance, we will examine both sexes to test long-held male-centric assumptions about evolutionary origins and maintenance of this trait. Crucially, we focus on lineages found only in Australia and PNG, where songbirds originated, to develop a robust scientific understanding of vocal mimicry across the entire songbird clade, and so provide an important new perspective on why and how song began.
Chief investigators: Prof Justin Welbergen (HIE); Dr Anastasia Dalziell (HIE); Prof Rob Magrath (Australian National University)
Partner investigators: Assoc Prof Jo Madden (University of Exeter); Dr Karan Odom (University of the Pacific)
Collaborators: Prof Naomi Langmore (Australian National University), Dr Fiona Backhouse (Cornell Lab of Ornithology; HIE)
Support: ARC Discovery Project (start 2024)
Project ID: DP240102490
Contact: J Welbergen
Many of the world’s largest clade of birds - the songbirds - incorporate vocal mimicry in their songs, but while scientific interest in vocal mimicry dates from Aristotle, limited progress has been made. With our unique research program we aim to provide an empirically based, theoretically informed understanding of avian vocal mimicry. In an important advance, we will examine both sexes to test long-held male-centric assumptions about evolutionary origins and maintenance of this trait. Crucially, we focus on lineages found only in Australia and PNG, where songbirds originated, to develop a robust scientific understanding of vocal mimicry across the entire songbird clade, and so provide an important new perspective on why and how song began.
Tempo and modes of cultural evolution in the complex display of the superb lyrebird
Cornell University team: Prof Irby Lovette, Dr Aaron Rice, Prof Mike Webster
Australia-based team: Dr Anastasia Dalziell (University of Wollongong), Prof Justin Welbergen (HIE)
Collaborators and students: Prof Rob Magrath (Australian National University); Dr Victoria Austin (HIE), Dr Fiona Backhouse (HIE), Matthew Chaumont (HIE)
Support: National Science Foundation Grant (USA) Cornell University to Lovette et al. (start 2018)
Project ID: #1730791
Contact: A Dalziell
Explaining natural patterns of phenotypic variation through space and time is a fundamental problem in evolutionary biology, yet conventional models of genetic evolution often fall short in explaining variation in behavioural phenotypes, particularly in those that are learned. Social transmission of learned behaviours can often lead to ‘cultures’ characterised by the conformity of behavioural variants within groups (such as family groups or populations) but variation in behavioural phenotypes among groups. However, such non-random patterns in behavioural variants can also result from genetic or environmental factors, and the extent to which social transmission shapes behavioural repertories in wild animals is still poorly understood. In this project, we will examine how lyrebird audio-visual displays vary through space and time using both comparative approaches and experiments. Lyrebirds provide an excellent system in which to investigate cultural evolution. Like humans, lyrebirds are excellent vocal mimics. In addition, they communicate using multi-component signals made up of both mimetic and non-mimetic song, and perform a complex dance display. Combined with limited dispersal and a large but patchy distribution, these attributes provide the necessary ingredients for the development of diverse lyrebird ‘cultures’.
Cornell University team: Prof Irby Lovette, Dr Aaron Rice, Prof Mike Webster
Australia-based team: Dr Anastasia Dalziell (University of Wollongong), Prof Justin Welbergen (HIE)
Collaborators and students: Prof Rob Magrath (Australian National University); Dr Victoria Austin (HIE), Dr Fiona Backhouse (HIE), Matthew Chaumont (HIE)
Support: National Science Foundation Grant (USA) Cornell University to Lovette et al. (start 2018)
Project ID: #1730791
Contact: A Dalziell
Explaining natural patterns of phenotypic variation through space and time is a fundamental problem in evolutionary biology, yet conventional models of genetic evolution often fall short in explaining variation in behavioural phenotypes, particularly in those that are learned. Social transmission of learned behaviours can often lead to ‘cultures’ characterised by the conformity of behavioural variants within groups (such as family groups or populations) but variation in behavioural phenotypes among groups. However, such non-random patterns in behavioural variants can also result from genetic or environmental factors, and the extent to which social transmission shapes behavioural repertories in wild animals is still poorly understood. In this project, we will examine how lyrebird audio-visual displays vary through space and time using both comparative approaches and experiments. Lyrebirds provide an excellent system in which to investigate cultural evolution. Like humans, lyrebirds are excellent vocal mimics. In addition, they communicate using multi-component signals made up of both mimetic and non-mimetic song, and perform a complex dance display. Combined with limited dispersal and a large but patchy distribution, these attributes provide the necessary ingredients for the development of diverse lyrebird ‘cultures’.
A Lyrebirds tale: cultural evolution of song through time
PhD Student: Matt Chaumont
Supervisors: Prof Justin Welbergen, Dr Anastasia Dalziell, Prof Rob Magrath
Contact: Matt Chaumont
Cultural evolution has been studied in human populations, primates, cetaceans, and some birds. Yet, relatively few studies have taken place in natural systems. The superb lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae), is a famous vocal mimic, able to imitate a variety of other species and replicate complex sounds. Lyrebirds occupy spatiotemporally diverse habitat, their dispersal is often limited, and song repertoires, which include a learned component, vary geographically. They are also long-lived ~30 years and have been shown to improve mimicry overtime. This makes the lyrebird a compelling animal model for the study of social-transmission of behavioural phenotypes through space and time. To examine the mechanisms of cultural evolution we will take advantage of the introduction of the lyrebird into Tasmania (c1934), where it is not native. There, by collecting audiovisual, ecological, and genetic data from the translocated population, we can make comparisons with the source population and quantify the drivers of cultural evolution in the wild. The project will also collect audio recordings from archives dating back from the 1920s in order to understand the rates of cultural evolution within populations over time.
PhD Student: Matt Chaumont
Supervisors: Prof Justin Welbergen, Dr Anastasia Dalziell, Prof Rob Magrath
Contact: Matt Chaumont
Cultural evolution has been studied in human populations, primates, cetaceans, and some birds. Yet, relatively few studies have taken place in natural systems. The superb lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae), is a famous vocal mimic, able to imitate a variety of other species and replicate complex sounds. Lyrebirds occupy spatiotemporally diverse habitat, their dispersal is often limited, and song repertoires, which include a learned component, vary geographically. They are also long-lived ~30 years and have been shown to improve mimicry overtime. This makes the lyrebird a compelling animal model for the study of social-transmission of behavioural phenotypes through space and time. To examine the mechanisms of cultural evolution we will take advantage of the introduction of the lyrebird into Tasmania (c1934), where it is not native. There, by collecting audiovisual, ecological, and genetic data from the translocated population, we can make comparisons with the source population and quantify the drivers of cultural evolution in the wild. The project will also collect audio recordings from archives dating back from the 1920s in order to understand the rates of cultural evolution within populations over time.
Anthropogenic soundscape change and avian vocal mimics
Project leader: Dr Anastasia Dalziell
Collaborators: Prof Justin Welbergen, Prof Kris French
Support: University of Wollongong Vice-chancellor's postdoctoral research fellowship to Dalziell (start 2017)
Australia’s natural landscapes are characterised by unique sounds produced by the biological and physical processes that operate within them. Collectively, these sounds form distinctive ‘soundscapes’ that are important for both human societies and natural ecological communities, and thus comprise a key, but often overlooked ‘natural value’. However, soundscapes worldwide are undergoing rapid and substantial changes as a result of human activities, to the extent that they are now considered an endangered resource. It is now well established that changes in natural soundscapes can provide early and quantifiable indications of declines in biodiversity and ecosystem health. However, soundscapes are not simply measurable by-products of biophysical processes, but rather play integral functional roles in the acoustic ecology of many species. Yet, little is known about how soundscape changes impact on the fitness of individual organisms, and ultimately therefore, we do not know how acoustic disturbance can affect ecosystem function. This project investigates how anthropogenic changes to soundscapes affect communication in the superb lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae), a species that is fundamentally dependent on local soundscapes because its mimetic vocalisations are derived directly from the sounds in its environment.
Project leader: Dr Anastasia Dalziell
Collaborators: Prof Justin Welbergen, Prof Kris French
Support: University of Wollongong Vice-chancellor's postdoctoral research fellowship to Dalziell (start 2017)
Australia’s natural landscapes are characterised by unique sounds produced by the biological and physical processes that operate within them. Collectively, these sounds form distinctive ‘soundscapes’ that are important for both human societies and natural ecological communities, and thus comprise a key, but often overlooked ‘natural value’. However, soundscapes worldwide are undergoing rapid and substantial changes as a result of human activities, to the extent that they are now considered an endangered resource. It is now well established that changes in natural soundscapes can provide early and quantifiable indications of declines in biodiversity and ecosystem health. However, soundscapes are not simply measurable by-products of biophysical processes, but rather play integral functional roles in the acoustic ecology of many species. Yet, little is known about how soundscape changes impact on the fitness of individual organisms, and ultimately therefore, we do not know how acoustic disturbance can affect ecosystem function. This project investigates how anthropogenic changes to soundscapes affect communication in the superb lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae), a species that is fundamentally dependent on local soundscapes because its mimetic vocalisations are derived directly from the sounds in its environment.
Structure and function of mimetic song in female superb lyrebirds (Menura novaehollandiae)
PhD Student: Dr Victoria Austin
Supervisors: Prof Justin Welbergen, Dr Anastasia Dalziell, Prof Naomi Langmore
Contact: Dr Victoria Austin
A long-held assumption in animal behaviour is that the production of complex learned vocalisations or “song” is a consequence of sexual selection on males. However, recent work has overturned this idea by showing that song in females is widespread and, indeed, constitutes an ancestral trait. There is now an urgent need to develop and test new hypotheses for the evolution of song in females. The proposed research will examine complex vocalisations in female superb lyrebirds, recently shown to imitate a wide range of sounds. This research will provide crucial insight into the mechanisms and functions of elaborate displays in females and vocal learning in non-human animals.
PhD Student: Dr Victoria Austin
Supervisors: Prof Justin Welbergen, Dr Anastasia Dalziell, Prof Naomi Langmore
Contact: Dr Victoria Austin
A long-held assumption in animal behaviour is that the production of complex learned vocalisations or “song” is a consequence of sexual selection on males. However, recent work has overturned this idea by showing that song in females is widespread and, indeed, constitutes an ancestral trait. There is now an urgent need to develop and test new hypotheses for the evolution of song in females. The proposed research will examine complex vocalisations in female superb lyrebirds, recently shown to imitate a wide range of sounds. This research will provide crucial insight into the mechanisms and functions of elaborate displays in females and vocal learning in non-human animals.
Geographic variation in the multimodal display of the Albert’s lyrebird (Menura alberti)
PhD Student: Dr Fiona Backhouse
Supervisors: Prof Justin Welbergen, Dr Anastasia Dalziell, Prof Rob Magrath
Contact: Dr Fiona Backhouse
The males of many species of bird attract females by performing dance-like visual displays accompanied by elaborate songs, but such multimodal performances are poorly understood. The Menuridae – the lyrebirds – are famous for their mimetic songs but they also perform elaborate multimodal displays. Our lab's previous work has focused on the superb lyrebird, but at present it is unclear to what extent their displays are unique to this species and what features are typical of the Menuridae more generally. This project will provide the first systematic study of the multimodal displays of Albert’s lyrebirds, informing our understanding of the song and dance displays of the Menuridae more generally.
PhD Student: Dr Fiona Backhouse
Supervisors: Prof Justin Welbergen, Dr Anastasia Dalziell, Prof Rob Magrath
Contact: Dr Fiona Backhouse
The males of many species of bird attract females by performing dance-like visual displays accompanied by elaborate songs, but such multimodal performances are poorly understood. The Menuridae – the lyrebirds – are famous for their mimetic songs but they also perform elaborate multimodal displays. Our lab's previous work has focused on the superb lyrebird, but at present it is unclear to what extent their displays are unique to this species and what features are typical of the Menuridae more generally. This project will provide the first systematic study of the multimodal displays of Albert’s lyrebirds, informing our understanding of the song and dance displays of the Menuridae more generally.
The functional significance of coordinated song and dance lyrebirds
Project leader: Dr Anastasia Dalziell
Collaborating institutions: Australian National University, Western Sydney University, Cornell University
Music and dance are intimately associated in all human cultures: indeed, many languages use one word to describe both practices. Recent research points to a deep cognitive connection between music and dance-like movements, fuelling speculation that they have evolved together. However, the evolutionary origins and functions of music and dance are highly controversial, and the extent to which music and dance is unique to humans is unclear. Formulating evolutionary explanations of music and dance in ourselves requires a much greater understanding of the functional significance of song and dance displays in non-humans. We have shown that non-human animals can also coordinate song and dance movements in their natural displays. Superb lyrebirds, Menura novaehollandiae, are world-renowned for their accurate vocal mimicry; however lyrebirds can also match specific dance movements with specific songs to produce a remarkable multimodal display. This coordination between a repertoire of dance movements and a repertoire of song types implies a level of sophistication previously only associated with humans. This project investigates the evolutionary causes and consequences of coordinated song and dance displays in birds using the superb lyrebird as a model system.
Project leader: Dr Anastasia Dalziell
Collaborating institutions: Australian National University, Western Sydney University, Cornell University
Music and dance are intimately associated in all human cultures: indeed, many languages use one word to describe both practices. Recent research points to a deep cognitive connection between music and dance-like movements, fuelling speculation that they have evolved together. However, the evolutionary origins and functions of music and dance are highly controversial, and the extent to which music and dance is unique to humans is unclear. Formulating evolutionary explanations of music and dance in ourselves requires a much greater understanding of the functional significance of song and dance displays in non-humans. We have shown that non-human animals can also coordinate song and dance movements in their natural displays. Superb lyrebirds, Menura novaehollandiae, are world-renowned for their accurate vocal mimicry; however lyrebirds can also match specific dance movements with specific songs to produce a remarkable multimodal display. This coordination between a repertoire of dance movements and a repertoire of song types implies a level of sophistication previously only associated with humans. This project investigates the evolutionary causes and consequences of coordinated song and dance displays in birds using the superb lyrebird as a model system.
The acoustic ecology and conservation of the endangered rufous scrub-bird
The rufous scrub-bird (Atrichornis rufescens) is a cryptic near-flightless passerine with a powerful song. It is one of only two extant species of the Atrichornithidae - the sister family to the lyrebirds (Menuridae). The rufous scrub-bird is classified as Endangered under the Commonwealth EPBC Act, and is restricted to five isolated sub-populations in high altitude habitat “islands” in NSW and Queensland, including an area south-east of Gloucester (the Gloucester Tops). Monitoring this listed species is a key to their conservation but the habitat in which the birds are found is challenging and remote. This study involves the development and application of acoustic monitoring techniques and other appropriate means of remote monitoring, aimed at increasing knowledge about the biology and behaviour of this intriguing but little-known species.
People: Prof Justin Welbergen, Dr Anastasia Dalziell & Dr Alan Stuart
We are looking for a Masters student to work on this project. For more information see here.
The rufous scrub-bird (Atrichornis rufescens) is a cryptic near-flightless passerine with a powerful song. It is one of only two extant species of the Atrichornithidae - the sister family to the lyrebirds (Menuridae). The rufous scrub-bird is classified as Endangered under the Commonwealth EPBC Act, and is restricted to five isolated sub-populations in high altitude habitat “islands” in NSW and Queensland, including an area south-east of Gloucester (the Gloucester Tops). Monitoring this listed species is a key to their conservation but the habitat in which the birds are found is challenging and remote. This study involves the development and application of acoustic monitoring techniques and other appropriate means of remote monitoring, aimed at increasing knowledge about the biology and behaviour of this intriguing but little-known species.
People: Prof Justin Welbergen, Dr Anastasia Dalziell & Dr Alan Stuart
We are looking for a Masters student to work on this project. For more information see here.