The ecology and evolution of communication systems and mating strategies in temperate and tropical birds

雄性和雌性对繁殖的贡献通常是截然不同的。这为影响动物行为的各种利益冲突和合作动机奠定了基础。鸟类声音行为的惊人复杂性既反映了冲突（例如：两只争夺领地的雄鸟为了接近雌鸟而进行的一场激烈的对唱决斗），也反映了合作（例如：一对正在繁殖的鸟在鸟巢附近发出的协调的二重唱）。与我的学生一起，我采用实地和实验室相结合的方法来研究野生鸟类的交流行为和繁殖活动中的冲突与合作。我使用新颖的理论框架来理解动物的发声行为和生殖策略，并结合创新的技术方法来测试该领域的假设。例如，我使用声学定位系统来监测自由生活的动物的空间，互动和多扬声器播放来吸引动物在现实的领土相遇，智能标签传感器技术来监测动物的社会互动，和自动记录仪来长期监测和生物多样性评估。在安大略省，我和我的学生们研究了黑顶山雀的雄性鸣叫行为和雌性繁殖决定。在热带地区，我们研究了多种物种的发声行为和进化，重点研究了红白鹪鹩、横斑蚁和长尾猿的长期研究。我使用遗传父权分析来比较雄性和雌性发声行为的明显生殖成功（雏鸟数量）和实现生殖成功（遗传后代数量）。我的研究揭示了在温带和热带动物的冲突和合作的进化，动物发声行为和繁殖策略之间的关系，沟通网络对动物生态学的重要性，以及新的生物声学技术的实用性野外生物学家。

Males and females often make very different contributions to reproduction. This sets the stage for a variety of conflicting interests and cooperative motivations that influence animal behaviour. The astonishing complexity of vocal behaviour in birds reflects both conflict (example: an aggressive countersinging duel between two territorial males competing for access to females) and cooperation (example: a coordinated vocal duet sung by a breeding pair of birds near their nest). Together with my students, I use a combined field-based and laboratory-based approach to study conflict and cooperation in the communication behaviour and breeding activities of wild birds. I use novel theoretical frameworks for understanding animal vocal behaviour and reproductive strategies, combined with innovative technical approaches to test hypotheses in the field. For example, I use Acoustic Location Systems for spatial monitoring of free-living animals, interactive and multi-speaker playback for engaging animals in realistic territorial encounters, Smart Tag sensor technology for monitoring animal social interactions, and autonomous recorders for long-term monitoring and biodiversity assessment. In Ontario, my students and I study male singing behaviour and female reproductive decisions in Black-capped Chickadees. In the tropics, we study the ecology and evolution of vocal behaviour and mate choice in a variety of species, with a focus on long-term studies of Rufous-and-white Wrens, Barred Antshrikes and Long-tailed Manakins. I use genetic paternity analyses to compare apparent reproductive success (number of fledglings) and realized reproductive success (number of genetic offspring) with male and female vocal behaviour. My research sheds new light on the evolution of conflict and cooperation in temperate and tropical animals, the relationship between animal vocal behaviour and reproductive strategies, the importance of communication networks to animal ecology, and the utility of new bioacoustic technologies for field biologists.