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Song Rhythm Development In Zebra Finches, Julia Hyland Bruno
Song Rhythm Development In Zebra Finches, Julia Hyland Bruno
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
This dissertation investigates song-rhythm learning in songbirds. Songbirds have been studied extensively in mechanistic investigations into the sensorimotor underpinnings of the cultural transmission of learned vocalizations. While several studies identified forebrain song-system neurons that generate rhythmic song patterns, we know little about how song rhythms are learned. The first part of the dissertation describes methods for detecting and analyzing birdsong rhythm patterns, and demonstrates their utility for identifying the role of song rhythms in social interactions. Results suggest that rhythm plasticity in zebra finch song may provide a potential vehicle for communication. Controlled song-learning experiments further found that developing zebra …
Status Signaling And The Characterization Of A Chirp-Like Signal In The Weakly Electric Fish Steatogenys Elegans, Caitlin E. Field
Status Signaling And The Characterization Of A Chirp-Like Signal In The Weakly Electric Fish Steatogenys Elegans, Caitlin E. Field
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Sensory systems are critical to both exploratory and communicatory processes, the study of which is critical to our understanding of how animals perceive and respond to their environments. In weakly electric fishes the electrosensory system is utilized for both of these purposes. One type of communication, status signaling, is widespread across taxa and frequently hormonally modulated. This hormonal modulation keeps the signal honest, wherein the status of the sender and the production of the status signal itself are both hormone dependent. We investigated exploratory and communicatory strategies of the electromotor system in pulse-type gymnotiforms, with a focus on status communication …