@dmennill.bsky.social
Biology Professor & Associate Dean @UWindsor. I use bioacoustics to study ecology, evolution, and conservation. Husband & father. Proud Canadian 🇨🇦. I post about our team's research adventures. www.uwindsor.ca/dmennill
Ryan @ryannorrissci.bsky.social and I are featured on page 25, not for our scientific accomplishments, but for our outstanding distraction techniques during an intense game of Koob.
The Bowdoin Scientific Station's 2025 Annual Report has just been published. It's a colourful and vivid depiction of one of the finest biology stations I've had the pleasure to work at. Check it out:
indd.adobe.com/view/edcf4d1...
@bowdoincollege.bsky.social @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social
"Immigrant song: Males and females learn songs after dispersal in a tropical bird"
doi.org/10.1093/behe... 🧵3/3
Do you put pop songs in your paper titles?
"Whip it good! Geographic consistency in male songs and variability in female songs of the duetting eastern whipbird"
doi.org/10.1111/j.09... 🧵2/3
Pop songs in science papers! Our new paper is the third time a pop song appears in one of our paper titles:
"In the danger zone: Wrens respond more strongly to experimentally simulated predators near their nest"
doi.org/10.1111/eth.... 🧵1/3
Good morning for an ornithologist doing the Spelling Bee...
Our 3D owl model was created by Lincoln Savi @lincolnsavi.bsky.social . Lincoln makes amazing animal models. Our control stimulus, a Rufous-capped Warbler, was carved by woodcarvers at the Windsor Wood Carving Museum. Thank you for your help creating these models!
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Read our open-access article here:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
This research was led by postdoctoral research Dr. Natalie Sánchez @natingui.bsky.social with outstanding field assistance by Isabel Vargas-Valverde and
María José Uribe-Espejo. Financial support from Mitacs and NSERC.
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We found that wrens responded more quickly when the simulated predator was near their nest. And they responded more vocally when the simulated predator was near their nest.
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Rufous-and-white Wrens reacted differently to lifelike 3D-printed models and acoustic playback simulating Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls at a close distance (5m) and farther distance (20m) from their nests, representing two different levels of danger.
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Our new article appears in today's issue of Ethology:
"In the Danger Zone: Wrens Respond More Strongly to Experimentally Simulated Predators Near Their Nest"
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
We presented 3D-printed owls near versus far from nests of tropical wrens. How did wrens respond?
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Jeff Dutter is a bioacoustics intern, joining our lab as part of the Master's of Bioacoustics (MoBi) program at U. Saint-Etienne. Today we had phase 2 of testing our Motus Audio microphone horns in our campus studio. Great work Jeff! #NocMig @ibiouwindsor.bsky.social @nicolasmathevon.bsky.social
I just returned from Cornell's Lab of O where I processed 1170 Savannah Sparrows for paternity analysis! I had so much fun learning new techniques and meeting the outstanding people at the Lab of O. Now I can't wait to see who the fathers are! @dmennill.bsky.social @ryannorrissci.bsky.social
We're testing out our latest prototypes of Motus Audio recorders in a campus recording studio. Led by visiting research student Jeff Dutter, with support from Natalie, Nelsy, and Madison. What effects do different plastic wraps have on our #nocmig recordings? Stay tuned to find out.
Instead of our usual Thursday lab meeting, today our team is joining the @wildlifeacoustics.com #NocmigWebinar "Dispatches in the Dark." We're learning all about nocturnal flight calls, migration over China and Europe, and the Chirpity #nocmig package. Thanks for hosting, Wildlife Acoustics!
Tough morning for a bassoon player doing the Spelling Bee…
Sarah's visiting the Lab of Ornithology this month, conducting genetic analyses of parentage of Savannah Sparrows. Thanks to everyone at the Lab of O for their hospitality and mentorship. Great work @sdobney.bsky.social!
Congratulations! I know what paper we're reading for lab meeting next.
Madison held her first supervisory committee meeting, presenting her plans for bioacoustic studies of bird migration. Congratulations Madison! I'm excited for the research ahead.
Did you solve it?
Three cheers for Natalie who had her first supervisory committee meeting today. Congratulations Nat! I’m really excited about your proposed research.
I'll predict that it is the internal latch that releases the XLR cable. Using a very tiny screwdriver, see if you can get between the recorder and the cable, to release the latch.
Otherwise, a shop that deals with guitar cables should be able to help fix this. XLR cables are common for guitars.
Do you know which part is broken... The little metal clip on the Tascam, or part of the cable?
... AND maybe the quiet singer is trying to minimize opportunities for eavesdropping.
Thanks for your reply, Dustin! Watch this space for part 2 of Connor's impressive Master's thesis, where we introduced playback to the scenario.
Our new paper is out today in Ethology: "In the Danger Zone: Wrens Respond More Strongly to Experimentally Simulated Predators Near Their Nest" With Dan Mennill @dmennill.bsky.social
How do tropical wrens respond to simulated predators near their nest?
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
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We thank NSERC, CFI, and MRI for grant and scholarship support, the Hiawatha Highlands Conservation Authority for land access, and A. Marsh for field assistance. And we thank Ovenbirds for performing such wonderfully loud songs.
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Therefore, our results offer support for the Context Dependent Amplitude Hypothesis: animals adjust their vocal amplitude across social contexts to maximize communication with intended receivers while minimizing detection by non-intended receivers.
Read it here: doi.org/10.1016/j.an...
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Importantly, we found that male Ovenbirds sang at higher amplitudes in Broadcast Singing and Distant Countersinging contexts, but much quieter amplitudes in Close Countersinging contexts.
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We found that male Ovenbirds are LOUD! Their high-amplitude songs reach a maximum of 98.8 dB(A)!
We found ample variation in average song amplitude of male songs across the three contexts.
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We recorded male Ovenbird songs in three contexts:
- Broadcast singing
- Distant countersinging
- Close countersinging
We predicted that song amplitude would vary across these contexts. We call this idea the Context-dependent Amplitude Hypothesis.
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