The Ecology and Development of Male Song Production and Female Song Preferences in Brown-Headed Cowbirds From Different Environments

Rothstein, s.i.本项目采用综合现场和实验室的方法来研究一种常见的鸣禽——褐头牛鹂的发声行为的发展。主要重点是阐明限制或促进学习过程的生态条件，以及(1)雌性对雄性歌曲的识别发展与(2)雄性歌曲生产发展之间的一致性。通过对不同生态条件下野生鸟类的研究和短期圈养，研究鸟类鸣叫的结构和功能。牛鹂对动物行为和生态学的研究很重要，原因有几个。之前对它的大量研究使它成为研究鸣禽声音发育的模型，鸣禽的声音发育与人类的语言发育非常相似。然而，许多先前的工作仅限于圈养的鸟类，可能无法反映自然界中发生的学习过程。此外，这一物种是一种幼虫寄生虫，它们的后代由宿主抚养，但仍然克服了早期的行为剥夺，只学会了牛鸟的发声。除了作为面对早期剥夺的行为发展的模型外，牛郎鸟对濒危物种和生物多样性的保护也具有重要意义。其他物种可能会把太多的父母的努力转移到抚养牛郎鸟上，以至于它们有时抚养的后代太少，无法确保宿主种群的持久性。本研究中获得的基本知识可能会改善目前用于改善牛椋鸟寄生影响的广泛和非常昂贵的管理工作。

Non Technical Abstract 9728091 Rothstein, S. I. This project employs integrated field and laboratory approaches to investigate the development of vocal behavior in a common songbird, the Brown-headed Cowbird. Major emphases are elucidation of the ecological conditions that limit or enhance learning processes and the concordance between (1) the development of female recognition of male song and (2) the development of male song production. Goals will be pursued by studying wild birds under different ecological conditions and by bringing birds into captivity for short periods to study song structure and function. The cowbird is important to the study of animal behavior and ecology for several reasons. The extensive amount of prior work on it has made it a model for studies of vocal development in songbirds, which is remarkably similar to speech development in humans. However, much of the prior work has been limited to captive birds and may not reflect learning processes that occur in nature. In addition, this species is a brood parasite whose young are raised by a host species but nevertheless overcomes this early behavioral deprivation and learns only cow-bird vocalizations. Besides serving as a model for behavioral development in the face of early deprivation, the cowbird is also significant to endangered species and to the preservation of biodiversity. Other species may divert so much of their parental effort towards raising cowbirds that they sometimes raise too few of their own young to ensure the persistence of host populations. The basic knowledge gained in this study may lead to improvements to the extensive and very costly management efforts currently employed to ameliorate the impacts of cowbird parasitism.