Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41785228›Full record

ArticlePloS one2026

Re-examining hidden fitness: Female preferences for long-path songs in zebra finches.

Prateek K Sahu, Moriah J Deimeke, Alexandra D Garcia, Katharine H Stenstrom, Sarah M L Smeltz, Yu Wang, Julian Ratch, Christopher B Sturdy

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Prateek K SahuDepartment of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Moriah J DeimekeDepartment of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Alexandra D GarciaDepartment of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Katharine H StenstromDepartment of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Sarah M L SmeltzDepartment of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Yu WangDepartment of Computing Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Julian RatchDepartment of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Christopher B SturdyDepartment of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2721-3770

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Female songbirds can evaluate male quality from secondary sexual characteristics such as songs. Studies have shown mixed findings on which acoustic features contribute to song attractiveness. In a 2024 study, Alam and colleagues introduced a holistic measure of song called "path length" and found that female zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) prefer long path length songs as compared to short path length songs. The original female-playback study was criticized for design limitations, notably its small sample size, and pseudoreplication. Here, we conducted a preregistered replication and extension study of the female preference for long vs. short path length songs. Our study will evaluate the robustness and generality of this preference.

Indexed as

FinchesMating Preference, AnimalVocalization, AnimalAnimalsFemaleMale

Identifiers

PMID41785228
PMCPMC12962475

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.