Dissertation Research: Testing an Ecological Hypothesis for the Evolution of Song Development in the Agelaius and Quiscalus Blackbirds (Passeriformes: Icteridae)

论文研究：黑鹂和黑鹂鸣唱进化的生态学假说的验证KROODSMA和ELIJAH A.古德温鸣禽发声学习策略的惊人多样性为理解动物交流提供了一个杰出的资源。 尽管我们对歌曲产生和歌曲学习机制的理解取得了重大进展，但是，我们仍然缺乏一套明确的假设来解释这种广泛多样的学习风格的进化，并将它们与动物的生态学联系起来。 为了满足这一需求，本研究将测试和扩展的假设，歌曲模仿与繁殖邻里稳定性和歌曲即兴发展与繁殖邻里不稳定性的音乐会。 这一假设将进行测试，在两个属的黑鸟，Agelaius和Quiscalus迁徙和定居物种的比较研究。 这项研究将记录的歌曲学习行为的每一个物种使用相结合的实地研究和鸟类饲养实验。 实地研究将测试邻居之间的歌曲共享和微地理歌曲方言的存在，而鸟舍研究将寻找在相同条件下饲养的不同物种的歌曲学习风格的差异。

Dissertation Research: Testing an Ecological Hypothesis for the Evolution of Song Development in the Agelaius and Quiscalus Blackbirds (Passeriformes: Icteridae)DONALD E. KROODSMA AND ELIJAH A. GOODWINThe stunning diversity of vocal learning strategies in the songbirds provides an outstanding resource for understanding animal communication. Despite major advances in our understanding of the mechanisms of song production and song learning, however, we still lack a clear set of hypotheses to explain the evolution of this wide variety in learning styles and to relate them back to the ecology of the animal. To address this need, this study will test and expand upon the hypothesis that song imitation evolves in concert with breeding neighborhood stability and that song improvisation evolves in concert with breeding neighborhood instability. This hypothesis will be tested using comparative studies of migratory and sedentary species within two genera of blackbirds, Agelaius and Quiscalus. The study will document the song learning behavior for each species using a combination of field studies and aviary-rearing experiments. Field studies will test for song sharing between neighbors and the presence of micro-geographic song dialects, while the aviary studies will look for differences in song learning styles by different species raised under the same conditions.