DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The Cardiac Response as a Measure of Song Perception in the Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia

论文研究：用心脏反应作为歌麻雀鸣叫感知的衡量标准

• 批准号: 0508588
• 负责人: William Searcy
• 金额: $ 0.64万
• 依托单位: University of Miami
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-04-01 至 2007-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0508588&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Cardiac; Response; Measure

Male songbirds use a variety of specialized singing behaviors when they interact. These behaviors are presumed to function as signals in male-male competition, yet for many behaviors it remains unclear what information the display is signaling. Examining how male birds perceive and respond to these behaviors is key to understanding how song functions in this context. Song perception by male birds is usually tested by measuring aggressive responses to song playback. The results of such tests are difficult to interpret, because the strongest aggressive response may be given to either the most threatening stimuli or to the least threatening stimuli. This project will use the cardiac response (change in heart rate) evoked by song playback as an alternative measure of the perception of song and other stimuli by male song sparrows. Specifically, this measure will be used to test the perception of low-amplitude song ('soft song'), a singing behavior that is thought to be highly aggressive, and to determine the distance over which soft song can be perceived by birds on their territories. Cardiac measures have proven useful for examining signal perception in a variety of species and contexts, but have not been applied to hypotheses about aggressive signal perception in birds. Broader Impacts: The broader impacts of this project include promoting the professional development of women in science, and providing opportunities for undergraduate students to gain research skills and experience. Numerous undergraduates and graduates have been mentored in this program, many of whom have gone on to professional careers in animal behavior.

雄性鸣禽在相互作用时会使用各种专门的歌唱行为。这些行为被认为是雄性之间竞争的信号，但对于许多行为来说，这些行为所传达的信息尚不清楚。研究雄性鸟类如何感知和回应这些行为是理解鸣声在这种情况下如何发挥作用的关键。雄鸟的鸣声感知通常通过测量对鸣声回放的攻击性反应来测试。这种测试的结果很难解释，因为最强烈的攻击性反应可能是对最具威胁性的刺激或对最不具威胁性的刺激作出的。该项目将使用鸣声回放引起的心脏反应（心率变化）作为雄性鸣声麻雀对鸣声和其他刺激感知的替代测量。具体来说，这一措施将用于测试对低振幅歌曲（“软歌”）的感知，这是一种被认为具有高度攻击性的歌唱行为，并确定鸟类在其领土上可以感知到的软歌的距离。心脏测量已被证明可用于检查各种物种和环境中的信号感知，但尚未应用于鸟类攻击性信号感知的假设。更广泛的影响：该项目的更广泛影响包括促进女性在科学领域的专业发展，并为本科生提供获得研究技能和经验的机会。许多本科生和毕业生在这个项目中得到了指导，其中许多人已经在动物行为方面从事专业工作。