Behavioral Ecology of Vocal Diversity

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Animal Behavior ProgramNon-technical AbstractTitle: Behavioral Ecology of Vocal DiversityPI: Bradbury, Jack W.Proposal #: 9974527Dr. Bradbury will study the contact calls of wild Orange-Fronted Parakeets (Aratinga canicularis) in Costa Rica. Although each individual appears to have its own variant, calls of birds from the same social units appear to be convergent. Dr. Bradbury and associates will record radio-tracked wild birds over time to determine how and why calls change with social affiliation. They will combine birds from different flocks in an aviary, monitor how calls change with new group formation, and monitor subsequent changes after release to the wild. Finally, they will synthesize digital copies of known birds' calls, modify them in specific ways, and use playbacks to the birds' mates to determine which variations in calls are used in recognition tasks.Little is known about how parrots use vocal learning in the wild. Parrots differ from many songbirds in mating for life, using vocal signals for social affiliation instead of territorial defense, and relying on different parts of the brain for vocal communication. Evidence suggests that parrot calls may provide closer parallels to human speech than do songbird songs. Dr. Bradbury will provide ecological data for Costa Rican parrot conservation programs, and train US and Costa Rican students as part of the study.