Abstract Across multiple taxa, prenatal exposure to rhythmic sound can promote neural development and alter postnatal behavior. In recent studies using zebra finches, stimulating embryos with parental “heat calls” affected their begging behavior as nestlings and song learning as adults. This song learning effect is potentially mediated by broader changes to offspring behavior that affect how they interact with potential song tutors; however, the long-term behavioral effects of prenatal sound are still poorly understood. In this study, therefore, we used captive wild-derived zebra finches to experimentally test (1) whether prenatal sound experience affected long-term behavioral traits and (2) whether these traits were correlated with song learning outcomes. Offspring that had experienced heat calls (treatment) or contact calls (control) in the egg were raised after hatching in a colony environment. We then used four assays to quantify different aspects of their adult behavior, including food neophobia, detour reaching, and exploration in a novel environment. Treatment offspring were less food neophobic (quicker to eat a novel food item), adding to increasing evidence that prenatal sound can affect long-term behavior. However, levels of food neophobia did not, in turn, predict song learning. Differences in offspring song learning may instead be explained by exploration behavior, as fast-exploring males produced more syllables from non-paternal tutors. While our findings do not support the hypothesis that behavior mediates the effects of prenatal sound on song learning, they nevertheless bring us closer to understanding the behavioral mechanisms through which prenatal sound might affect postnatal outcomes. Significance statement Sounds experienced inside the egg can influence an individual’s behavior after hatching. In the zebra finch, exposing embryos to a parental “heat call” altered their song learning later in life, but the mechanism driving this effect is unknown. In this study, we tested whether prenatal playback of heat calls affected a suite of adult behavioral traits and whether any of these traits were associated with song learning. Exposure to heat calls produced adult zebra finches that were less neophobic towards a novel food item, but this trait was not itself correlated with song learning. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of the prenatal sound environment for shaping future offspring behavior, which may in turn have unappreciated fitness consequences.

中文翻译：

---

产前声音体验对鸣禽行为的长期影响及其与歌唱学习的关系

摘要 在多个分类群中，产前接触有节奏的声音可以促进神经发育并改变产后行为。在最近使用斑胸草雀进行的研究中，用父母的“热呼叫”刺激胚胎会影响它们作为雏鸟的乞讨行为和成年后的歌曲学习。这种歌曲学习效应可能是由影响他们与潜在歌曲导师互动方式的后代行为的更广泛变化所介导的；然而，对产前声音的长期行为影响仍然知之甚少。因此，在本研究中，我们使用圈养野生斑胸草雀进行实验测试（1）产前声音体验是否影响长期行为特征以及（2）这些特征是否与歌曲学习结果相关。在群体环境中孵化后，在卵中经历了热呼叫（处理）或接触呼叫（控制）的后代被饲养。然后，我们使用四种分析来量化他们成人行为的不同方面，包括食物新恐惧症、绕道到达和在新环境中的探索。接受治疗的后代对食物的新恐惧症较少（吃新食物的速度更快），这增加了越来越多的证据表明产前声音会影响长期行为。然而，食物新恐惧症的水平反过来并不能预测歌曲学习。后代歌曲学习的差异可以用探索行为来解释，因为快速探索的雄性从非父系导师那里产生了更多的音节。虽然我们的研究结果不支持行为介导产前声音对歌曲学习的影响的假设，尽管如此，它们让我们更接近于了解产前声音可能影响产后结果的行为机制。重要性声明 蛋内的声音会影响孵化后个体的行为。在斑胸草雀中，将胚胎暴露于父母的“热呼叫”会改变它们以后的歌曲学习，但驱动这种效果的机制尚不清楚。在这项研究中，我们测试了产前热呼唤的回放是否影响了一系列成人行为特征，以及这些特征中的任何一个是否与歌曲学习有关。暴露于热叫声会产生成年斑胸草雀，它们对新食物的恐惧程度较低，但这种特征本身与歌曲学习无关。全面的，