Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Songbirds (order Passeriformes) learn to produce their vocal signals to maintain contact with and convey important information to conspecific listeners. For example, the temporal and spectral features of their vocalizations can inform listeners of their species, flock, and individual identity, however, few studies attempt to correlate the salient features of the vocal signals with their putative function(s) in nature. For several reasons chickadees (genus Poecile) provide an excellent model system for investigating the functions of vocal signals. First, there are seven different chickadee species in North America, providing the opportunity to conduct comparative analyses across species to search for general phenomena in communication abilities. Second, all chickadee species produce a variant of the ""chick-a-dee"" call, a complex combinatorial vocal signal for which the birds are named. Finally, all chickadee species produce a variant of the ""gargle"" call, a complex call consisting of 3-18 note types produced in a combinatorial manner. I propose to record chick-a-dee and gargle calls from identified populations and conduct bioacoustic analyses. By comparing the spectral and temporal features of call notes it will be possible to determine whether similarities exist among, for example, flock members and dominant individuals. Further, by noting the behaviour and conditions under which the vocalizations were recorded, it will be possible to correlate specific call types with particular functions. Once potential features of vocalizations are identified, field and laboratory studies will be conducted in order for birds to verify the importance and usage of these features. Attempting to understand the function and usage of chick-a-dee and gargle calls using a combination of bioacoustical, observational, descriptive and experimental techniques will ultimately increase our understanding of the cognitive mechanisms underlying acoustic communication in songbirds.