Dissertation Research: Song Dialects, Mating Success and Gene Flow in Mountain White-Crowned Sparrows

非技术摘要 山区白冠麻雀的宋代方言、交配成功率和基因流 鸟类的歌声是文化传播的，也就是说，年轻的鸣禽通过模仿成年鸟来学习物种特有的歌声。 因此，地理变异或歌曲方言（类似于人类口音）经常出现。 关于宋代方言的演变意义，人们提出了几种假说。 这些假设产生的预测在歌曲方言在男性交配成功中的拟议作用以及方言群体在遗传上的不同程度上有所不同。 歌曲方言对雄性繁殖成功的影响，以及方言作为交配障碍的作用，将在山区白冠麻雀Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha中进行研究。 分子遗传学技术将被用来测量如何由个别男性产生的歌曲方言影响他们的繁殖成功（后代男性在自己的巢和人口中的数量），并评估不同方言人口内和之间的杂交。 这项研究将特别增加我们的知识，如何歌曲方言影响配偶选择和种群结构的鸣禽物种。 更一般地说，文化进化和生物进化之间令人兴奋的联系可能会得到证明。 栖息地破碎化的方言持久性和人口结构的影响也将得到解决，保护生物学的可能影响。

Non Technical Abstract Song dialects, mating success and gene flow in mountain white-crowned sparrows Bird song is culturally transmitted; that is, young songbirds learn species-typical song by copying adults. Thus, geographic variations or song dialects (analogous to human accents) often arise. Several hypotheses have been advanced to explain the evolutionary significance of song dialects. The predictions generated by these hypotheses differ in the proposed role of song dialect in male mating success and in the degree to which dialect groups are genetically distinct. The effects of song dialects on male reproductive success, and the role of dialects as barriers to mating, will be investigated in mountain white-crowned sparrows Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha. Molecular genetic techniques will be used to measure how song dialects produced by individual males affect their reproductive success (the number of offspring males sire in their own nests and in the population at large) and to assess interbreeding within and among different dialect populations. This research will specifically increase our knowledge of how song dialects affect mate choice and population structure in songbird species. More generally, an exciting link between cultural and biological evolution may be demonstrated. The effect of habitat fragmentation on dialect persistence and population structure will also be addressed, with possible implications for conservation biology.