International Research Fellowship Program: Song Learning in Duetting Birds

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0902284TempletonThis award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The International Research Fellowship Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct nine to twenty-four months of research abroad. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad.This award will support a twenty-four-month research fellowship by Dr. Christopher N. Templeton to work with Dr. Peter J. B. Slater at St. Andrews University in the UK.Song duetting is a complex acoustic display involving the production of coordinated, temporally precise songs by two different animals. Although rare at northern latitudes, duetting is quite common in birds outside of the temperate zone, with at least 220 species singing duets, and it is clear that this method of communicating is extremely important to the ecology and natural history of tropical birds. Despite intense interest in understanding the function of song duets, this study is the first to examine the mechanisms by which young birds learn to produce these complex vocalizations. The present study examines the ontogeny of song learning in Happy Wrens (Thryothorus felix) using a combination of experimental field and laboratory studies. 1) behavioral observations: 2) radio telemetry 3) song recording 4) playback studies: 5) laboratory learning experiment: Last, a highly controlled laboratory experiment investigates the social mechanisms and genetic biases of song learning. Male and Female nestlings are hand-raised and subjected to male songs, female songs, or different types of song duets from both sexes. The observed learning will indicate what types of social interactions are necessary for young birds to learn sex-specific song types and the appropriate rules for combining these songs into duets.Song learning in north-temperate birds has been extensively analyzed in the laboratory and has become a major model system for studying the ecology, evolution, neurobiology, and genetics of learning in animals. In addition, there are many fascinating parallels between the neurological and behavioral mechanisms responsible for bird song learning and human language learning, making birds important models for human language learning. Despite the importance of this system, our understanding of song learning in birds has been primarily restricted to temperate species where only the male sings, and it is only recently that the diversity of singing styles among birds has been appreciated. Species that sing complex duets, with temporally intertwined and sex-specific song elements produced by the male and female, provide a unique opportunity for studying the importance of social factors in bird song learning. The results from the current research will close a significant gap in our understanding of this widely-studied model system and broaden the potential of applications to human behavior.In addition to the theoretical and practical implications of the current research, this grant directly affects the scientific training of a young researcher and numerous students. By spending time working with one of the most well-respected scientists in his field, at one of the premiere institutions in Scotland, and the UNAM field station in Mexico, the PI is establishing important and long-lasting international collaborations and gaining invaluable scientific expertise that he will bring back and pass on to colleagues and students in the US at the end of the project.