THE EFFECT OF LOCATION AND STAGE OF NESTING ON NEIGHBOR/STRANGER DISCRIMINATION IN THE HOUSE WREN.
Item
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Title
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THE EFFECT OF LOCATION AND STAGE OF NESTING ON NEIGHBOR/STRANGER DISCRIMINATION IN THE HOUSE WREN.
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Identifier
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AAI8112359
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identifier
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8112359
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Creator
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GROVE, PATRICIA A.
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Contributor
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Prof. Donald M. Cooper
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Date
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1981
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Biology, General
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Abstract
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Territorial male House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon) have been shown to respond agonistically to playbacks of conspecific song. The intensity of response differs depending upon the boundary location and whether the conspecific song is that of an adjacent neighbor or a stranger breeding one kilometer distant.;Playbacks were divided into four minute pre-play, play, and post-play periods, and intensity of resident response assessed using sixteen measures of auditory and visual display. Four condition contrasts were statistically analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test: (1) the songs of neighbor vs. those of a stranger from the normal boundary between the resident and neighbor; (2) the songs of neighbor vs. those of a stranger from the opposite boundary; (3) the songs of neighbor from the normal vs. the opposite boundary; and (4) the songs of strangers from the "normal" vs. the "opposite" boundary.;House Wrens do not exhibit the response decrement to songs of neighbors on territory that has been reported for numerous other passerine species. Indeed, for several measures of response at various stages of the nesting cycle, the response to the songs of neighbors exceeds that to the songs of strange conspecifics.;Observations indicate that the resident male House Wren is responding to a real threat posed by neighbors to the integrity of his territory. Suitable nesting cavities are a crucial resource for successful breeding, since such cavities are acquired rather than excavated, and multiple nesting sites within a territory increase the likelihood of attracting one or more females to nest. Acquisition of nest sites may occur at any time in the season, but it is most prevalent at mid-season when much shifting of territorial boundaries occurs. Under such circumstances, a waning of response to the activities of neighbors could prove disadvantageous to the resident, and a strong response to the challenges of neighbor and stranger is to be expected.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Biology
