I
am interested in the evolution and function of sexually selected signals
in birds, specifically, complex behavioral traits such as song and complex
morphological characteristics such as plumage coloration. Many species
of male songbirds display using both colorful plumage and conspicuous
song. Researchers are suggesting that these types of signals may provide
females with accurate information about a male's condition. For my master's
thesis, I addressed the function of both plumage brightness and song
in blue grosbeaks as a function of female choice.
At Duke University, I hope to further address
the
functional significance of acoustic signals in birds. Currently, my
project is to investigate a new mechanism by which vocal signals can
serve as indicators of male quality in the context of mate choice. Recent
work on vocal production and female discrimination in birds suggests
that the abilities of males to produce physically challenging songs
might be used by females to assess male quality. Because birds modify
the acoustic properties of their vocal tract during song production
by opening and closing their beaks, they face a trade-off between the
rate and frequency bandwidth of syllables in trilled songs. Vocal performance
reflects the ability of males to reach a performance limit defined by
this trade-off and may correlate with male quality. I propose to test
the hypothesis that vocal performance is an indicator of male quality,
to investigate a mechanism by which females are able to discriminate
such subtle features of song, and to test a key prediction of how motor
constraints affect vocal performance.
Website last updated January 2005
Contact beb5@duke.edu
