U of L study tracks the evolution of bird behaviour

caroline.zentner — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 15:42:35 +0000

A research project led by a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge undergraduate has revealed evidence of an evolutionary relationship between migration and vocal duetting in birds.

Vocal duets occur when a mated pair of birds sings together. The study, which is the first to describe the evolution of duetting in a family of birds known as warblers, shows that duetting co-evolved with the absence of migration.

“The basic pattern had been shown before, but not for this family,” says Dr. David Logue, a U of L psychology professor and principal investigator in the Birdsong Lab. “That we found the same result as previous studies suggests that the pattern is real. It’s a good example of replication—a core principle of the scientific method that is often neglected.”

While geographers look at rocks and paleontologists at fossils to get an idea of what Earth and its lifeforms looked like millions of years ago, scientists who study the evolution of animal behaviour have no such luxuries.

These researchers must look at the behaviour of living species for clues about their ancestors’ behaviour. Current behaviour, when combined with knowledge of the evolutionary relationships among species and computer modelling, gives scientists clues to the behaviour of ancient relatives.

Liam Mitchell studied vocal duetting in non-migratory New World warblers.

Liam Mitchell, a fourth-year neuroscience student, used that approach in his research project that looked at vocal duetting and migration in a family of birds called New World warblers. Mitchell, along with lab-mates Jakica Cavar and Logue, and colleagues from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Northern Colorado, Nadje Najar and Lauryn Benedict, tested for an evolutionary correlation between migrating and duetting.

“The unique parts about this study were the bird family and the methodology. Warblers haven’t been particularly well studied with respect to duetting. We looked at all of the warbler species we could, while some other studies have done random sampling across many different families,” says Mitchell. “Given our idea about why duetting and migration might be related, our hypothesis was that birds that don’t migrate are more likely to duet and vice-versa. This was shown to be correct.”

The Barbuda warbler is a species endemic to the island of Barbuda.

New World warblers are small songbirds that live throughout North and South America. With their large geographical range, they also exhibit a wide range of behaviours. For example, some species migrate while others don’t. Species that breed in the tropics and Southern Hemisphere are less likely to migrate than those that breed in the North Temperate Zone. Also, some species of New World warblers engage in vocal duetting while others don’t. In duetting, breeding pairs combine their two songs into one song. The male is the primary singer in most warbler species, but in duetting species, the female will add notes to his song or sing her own song in conjunction with the male.

Mitchell says duetting and non-migration may be related because non-migratory birds are pair bonded for longer periods of time than their migrating relatives. Bonded pairs cooperate to raise their young, collect food and defend their territory with duets. Since migrating birds move twice a year, it’s more difficult for them to maintain such a relationship.

The study, which was supported by an Undergraduate Student Research Award through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and an NSERC Discovery Grant, has been published in the influential journal The Auk: Ornithological Advances.

U of L community organizes fundraiser to help people in Puerto Rico

caroline.zentner — Tue, 31 Oct 2017 19:42:23 +0000

Growing up in Puerto Rico, Francisco Gomez Jimenez, a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge doctoral student, knew the island as a tropical paradise. But the view through the plane window as his flight descended into the airport at San Juan on Sept. 30 was shocking.

“Puerto Rico was brown. There were no leaves on the trees. It looked like a completely different place from the one I last visited in June,” he says. “It’s always this lush, green island. Now it’s barren. It’s just devastated.”

Francisco Gomez Jimenez

Gomez Jimenez arrived 10 days after Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico. While he knew his family and friends had survived, he wasn’t prepared for the devastation on the ground. The main roads had been cleared of debris but almost all of the power lines were on the ground, a billboard had smashed into a house, signs were toppled over and debris from the storm was everywhere.

Most people in Puerto Rico are still without power more than a month after the hurricane. Water treatment plants are not working and people are turning to rivers and streams for water. Mosquitoes are thick and illnesses like leptospirosis are on the rise. People line up for eight to 12 hours at gas stations and wait for service at banks and the few stores that are open for business. Malls that are open are congested with people. Temperatures are above 30 C and there’s no electricity to run air conditioners. People living in more rural areas remain isolated as damaged roadways mean supplies can’t be delivered.

“A lot of people have lost everything, their families, their houses and their businesses,” says Gomez Jimenez. “We just want to help in any way we can. There’s a big humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico.”

Dr. David Logue, a psychology professor who taught at the Universidad de Puerto Rico for a few years before coming to the U of L, had been thinking about doing a fundraiser. He, along with Karen Pinto-Larsen, a U of L student, contacted Gomez Jimenez about joining forces. They have been further reinforced by many other campus groups, including the Spanish Club, the African Caribbean Student Association, the Neuroscience Club, the International Students Association, the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, the Delta Eta Iota and Kappa Beta Gamma sororities and the Kappa Sigma fraternity. Thus, the Students United for Puerto Rico (SUPR) group was formed.

Madison Young, left, and Erika Roman, two students volunteering with the SUPR group, take donations at a table in the Students' Union building.

Donation tables will be set up this week in Markin Hall and the Students’ Union building from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Donations, however big or small, are most appreciated. Thanks to Lethbridge artist April Matisz, donors will receive greeting cards featuring Puerto Rico beach scenes. All proceeds will go to P.E.C.E.S., an organization that fosters social, economic and educational development of people and communities in social disadvantage in Puerto Rico.

“Despite everything Hurricane Maria took from us, we will rise up from this as a community,” says Gomez Jimenez. “I could also see determination in people’s faces. They’re still looking forward to the future, knowing things will get better. They still need all the help they can get and I hope this fundraiser will demonstrate that they’re not alone and that we’re thinking of them.”

Anyone wanting further information can contact david.logue@uleth.ca or karen.pintolarsen@uleth.ca.

UNews - Dr. David Logue

U of L study tracks the evolution of bird behaviour

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U of L community organizes fundraiser to help people in Puerto Rico

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