International Research Fellowship Program: Song Learning in Duetting Birds

0902284模板该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)资助的。国际研究奖学金计划使美国科学家和工程师能够在国外进行9至24个月的研究。该项目的奖项提供了联合研究的机会，并利用国外独特或互补的设施、专业知识和实验条件。该奖项将支持克里斯托弗·N·邓普顿博士与英国圣安德鲁斯大学的彼得·J·B·斯莱特博士合作的为期24个月的研究奖学金。歌曲对唱是一种复杂的声学表演，涉及由两种不同动物产生协调的、时间上精确的歌曲。虽然二重唱在北纬地区很少见，但在温带以外的鸟类中相当常见，至少有220种鸟类唱二重唱，显然这种交流方式对热带鸟类的生态和自然历史极其重要。尽管人们对了解二重唱的功能非常感兴趣，但这项研究是第一次研究幼鸟学习产生这些复杂发声的机制。本研究采用实验场研究和实验室研究相结合的方法，对Happy Wrens(Thryothorus Felix)的歌曲学习个体发育进行了研究。1)行为观察：2)无线电遥测3)歌曲录音4)回放研究：5)实验室学习实验：最后，一个高度可控的实验室实验考察了歌曲学习的社会机制和遗传偏见。雄性和雌性雏鸟都是人工饲养的，并接受雄鸟、母鸟或两性不同类型的歌唱二重唱。观察到的学习将表明幼鸟学习特定性别的鸣叫类型需要哪些类型的社会互动，以及将这些歌声组合成二重唱的适当规则。北温带鸟类的歌唱学习在实验室中得到了广泛的分析，并已成为研究动物学习的生态学、进化论、神经生物学和遗传学的主要模式系统。此外，负责鸟类歌唱学习的神经和行为机制与人类语言学习之间有许多有趣的相似之处，使鸟类成为人类语言学习的重要模型。尽管这个系统很重要，但我们对鸟类歌唱学习的理解主要局限于温带物种，那里只有雄性鸟类唱歌，直到最近，人们才意识到鸟类歌唱风格的多样性。演唱复杂二重唱的物种，以及由雄性和雌性产生的时间交织和性别特定的歌曲元素，为研究社会因素在鸟类歌唱学习中的重要性提供了独特的机会。目前的研究结果将填补我们对这一被广泛研究的模型系统的理解上的一个重大差距，并扩大应用于人类行为的潜力。除了当前研究的理论和实践意义外，这项拨款直接影响到一名年轻研究人员和许多学生的科学培训。通过花时间与他所在领域最受尊敬的科学家之一、苏格兰的一流机构和墨西哥的UNAM野外站合作，PI正在建立重要和长期的国际合作，并获得宝贵的科学专业知识，他将在项目结束时带回并传递给美国的同事和学生。

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.