|
My
research is focused on extra-pair mating, territoriality and
communication in animals. I use the Song
Sparrow, Melospiza melodia, as a model system. Our study population is located in Discovery Park,
Seattle, and is non-migratory.
Extra-pair mating
Most songbird species are
socially monogamous yet females commonly have offspring with males other
than their social mates. Song sparrow is a case in point: In a previous
study Chris Hill found that about a quarter of offspring in our population
are sired by extra-pair males.
Despite the
significant research effort in the last 20+ years studying more than 100 species, we
still are far from understanding how, when and why extra-pair matings
happen. In particular, despite the common assumption that females
benefit from extra-pair mating, it is not clear whether extra-pair
paternity in fact is mainly a male-driven or a female-driven strategy
(or both). I am currently attempting to answer this question in the song
sparrow by collecting behavioral data on the interactions of the males
and females with their neighbors, and genetic data from
the offspring. I employ radio-telemetry to follow movements of the pairs
during the nesting cycle. I have been very fortunate to have the chance
to collaborate with Bill Searcy
in this project, when he spent his sabbatical with our lab in Spring
2008.
Territoriality
Many animal species are
territorial and engage in repeated interactions with their neighbors
during at least part of their life-cycle. A common phenomenon observed in many territorial species is that
territorial neighbors, despite usually being in direct competition for
things like space, food and matings (see above), develop a "Dear Enemy"
relationship, where neighbors come recognize each other and
show mutual restraint against each other. This can be viewed as a cooperative act, since restraint
means giving up potential benefits that one can obtain through
aggression. Furthermore, it can be exploited by aggressive neighbors, so
the situation can be likened to a Prisoner's Dilemma game, where territorial
neighbors might evolve cooperation through a conditional strategy such
as Tit-for-tat (TFT), which is what song sparrows seem to be doing.
Song development
The main focus of Beecher lab
is the study of song development. I had the chance to collaborate with the other members
of the lab in field and lab experiments examining song learning in song
sparrows in the past few years. Currently, I am following up this
research with field playback experiments examining social factors that
might influence song learning by juvenile males.
Cognitive Psychology
Before joining the Beecher lab, I spent
two years in Dr.
Eliot Hazeltine's lab at Iowa, working on the
(quite unrelated) problems of cognitive control of action. My research
in the
Cognition and Action
laboratory focused on dynamic modulation of
input from different sources of information in selection of responses. I
still sometimes put my cognitive scientist hat on, as it gradually
became a kind of a hobby.
Links:
Mike Beecher
-
Chris
Hill - John
Burt -
Chris
Templeton |