Collaborative Research: Urban-dependent selection on bird song: proximate and ultimate causes, and evolutionary consequences

对于大多数生物体来说，城市是最近的环境；然而，关于持续存在于城市环境中的物种的适应情况，人们知之甚少。最近，人们对城市环境中的声音通信的兴趣激增，这突显了鸟类对许多不同城市生活的潜在适应。这些研究提出了几个关于这种潜在适应的基本问题，这些问题在动物交流和配偶选择的研究中具有全球性的应用。这项建议将解决其中三个基本问题：(1)鸟类如何调整它们的歌声以适应城市环境？(2)歌声城市化如何影响信号信息？(3)城市歌声是否自适应？为了解决这些问题，本研究将采用行为学、生态学和机械学的建模方法，使用NSF已建立的用于行为研究的生物模型--白冠麻雀。实现该提案的目标将改变人们对城市依赖于交配行为的选择的理解状态，以及更广泛地说，对持续存在于城市环境中的物种的适应。拟议的研究有几个方面应该产生广泛的影响：(1)通过社区组织、地方和国家博物馆陈列、媒体渠道广泛传播研究成果，并开发以学习者为中心的教学模块；(2)为科学中代表性不足的人口群体的学生提供研究机会；(3)开发模拟鸟鸣进化的统计软件包，并举办讲习班，培训科学家、教育工作者和学生使用鸟鸣；以及(4)与国家公园管理局声音司合作和共享数据。这将有助于本研究所在的地方国家公园以及全国范围内的国家公园制定合理的管理计划。

Cities are recent environments for most organisms; yet little is known about the adaptations of species that persist in urban settings. A recent surge of interest in acoustic communication in urban contexts highlights a potential adaptation of birds to life in many different cities. These studies have raised several fundamental questions regarding this potential adaptation, which have global applications to studies of animal communication and mate selection. This proposal will address three of these fundamental questions: (1) how are birds adjusting their song to the urban environment?; (2) how has song urbanization affected signal information?; and (3) are urban songs adaptive? To address these questions, this study will employ behavioral, ecological and mechanistic modeling approaches, using an established NSF model organism for behavioral studies, white-crowned sparrows. Meeting the proposal's objectives will transform the state of understanding of urban-dependent selection on mating behaviors and, more broadly, the adaptations of species that persist in urban environments. There are several aspects of the proposed study that should yield broad impacts: (1) broad dissemination of research results through community organizations, local and national museum displays, media outlets, and development of learner-centered teaching modules, (2) research opportunities for students from demographic groups that are under-represented in the sciences, (3) development of a statistical software package for simulating bird song evolution, and a workshop to train scientists, educators, and students in its use, and (4) collaboration and sharing of data with the National Park Service Sound Division, which will help national parks local to this study as well as national parks nationwide with their sound management plans.