Tag: Song Sparrow

Seasonal modulation of sickness behavior in free-living northwestern songsparrows (Melospiza melodia morphna)

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) Science Article 5 abstract A variety of vertebrate species modulate immunefunction on a seasonal basis to cope with seasonal energydeficits and competing life-history demands, such asreproduction. Most studies to date have focused uponseasonal variation of cellular and humoral immunity,while neglecting behavioral responses to infection Noah T. Owen-Ashley and John C. Wingfield, […]

Geographic analysis of nucleotide diversity and song sparrow (Aves: Emberizidae) population history

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) Science Article 11 abstract Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control-region (CR) sequences were analysed to address three questions regarding the evolution of geographical variation in song sparrows. (i) Are mtDNA sequences more informative about phylogenetic relationships and population history than previously published restriction fragment (RFLP) data? ADAM J. FRY & ROBERT M. ZINK, […]

Social influences during song development in the song sparrow:a laboratory experiment simulating field conditions

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) Science Article 14 abstract Oscine songbirds are exposed to many more songs than they keep for their final song repertoire and littleis known about how a bird selects the particular song(s) to sing as an adult. We simulated in thelaboratory the key variables of the natural song learning environment and examined […]

Inbreeding depresses immune response insong sparrows (Melospiza melodia): directand inter-generational effects

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) Science Article 3 abstract A thorough knowledge of relationships between host genotype and immunity to parasitic infection isrequired to understand parasite-mediated mechanisms of genetic and population change. It has beensuggested that immunity may decline with inbreeding. Jane M. Reid et al, Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B (2003) 270, 2151-2157 Download article […]

Synergistic effects of food and predators onannual reproductive success in song sparrows

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) Science Article 16 abstract The behaviour literature is full of studies showing that animals in every taxon balance the probability ofacquiring food with the risk of being preyed upon. While interactions between food and predators clearlyoperate at an individual scale, population-scale studies have tended to focus on only one factor at […]

Mate, neighbour and stranger songs:a female song sparrow perspective

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) Science Article 10 abstract We investigated discrimination by female song sparrows, Melospiza melodia, between different categoriesof male song using the copulation solicitation display as a preference assay. Females respondedmost strongly to songs recorded from their mates, less strongly to songs of neighbouring males A. L. O’LOGHLEN & M. D. BEECHER, ANIMAL […]

Correlation of song learning and territory establishment strategiesin the song sparrow

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) Science Article 12 abstract In a field study, we show that a young song sparrow (i) selects his songs from three or four older birds who have neighboring territories, (ii) preferentially learns song types that these tutor neighbors share, and (ui) ultimately sets up his territory next to, or replaces, one […]

The social interaction role of song in song sparrows: implications for signal design

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) Science Article 17 abstract Many territorial songbirds use singing as an interactive social signal to reduce inter-neighbor aggression. Communicationtheory predicts that territorial songbirds may use repertoires of signals to indicate graded levels of aggressive motivation.This theory is supported in song sparrows, a species that uses several different song-based signals such as […]

Partial song matching in an eastern population ofsong sparrows, Melospiza melodia

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) Science Article 2 abstract One hypothesis for the function of vocal repertoires in songbirds is that singing multiple song typesfacilitates song matching, a behaviour in which one male replies to a rival’s song with a song of the sametype. In eastern populations of song sparrows, low levels of whole song sharing […]