Aimophila
sparrows - PhD dissertation research
University
of
Washington, Beecher Lab
Discovering
a rare role reversal
For
my doctorate, I am studying vocal communication, sexual selection and
reproductive strategies in stripe-headed sparrows (Aimophila ruficauda),
a partially
role reversed songbird.
Stripe-headed
sparrow females often sing more than males. This reversal is rare in
the birds, and I am interested in why intrasexual selection may be
stronger among females than among males in this species.
See
my recent paper on the subject, now
in the journal Proceedings
of the Royal Society of London Series B.
Females
as impressive performers
High-performance
song may be an indicator of individual quality or motivation in
songbirds. Female stripe-headed sparrows deliver astounding
performances of super-fast songs that can last up to 30 seconds. I am
investigating individual variation in and signal value of song
performance in females.
Comparing
species for perspective
Species
from the genus Aimophila
are found in North, Central and South America. By comparing song and
behavior among many of these species, I also hope to determine how
stripe-headed sparrows became so unique.
Other
projects:
Song
learning and signaling in Song Sparrows (Melospiza
melodia)
How social environment
influences song
learning in song sparrows.
Cornell
Laboratory of
Ornithology and Cornell
University, Vehrencamp Lab
Acoustic signaling in Thryothorus
pleurostictus
in
Costa Rica.
How
vocal performance influences male-male interactions.
Are
males
signaling aggression by overlapping each other's calls?
|
Aimophila
r. ruficauda, Costa Rica
photo
by Nick Kontonicolas
A female stripe-headed
sparrow sings a solo.
photo
by Anya Illes
Sumichrast's sparrow (Aimophila sumichrasti,
Mexico) is closely related to the stripe-headed sparrow.
Photo
by Anya Illes
|
