Life Sciences Commons^™

Developmental Stress And The Effects On Physiological And Cognitive-Behavioural Traits In European Starlings, Tara M. Farrell

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Birdsong is a complex, learned vocalization that is a phenotypic expression of male quality. The developmental stress hypothesis describes how the cost to possessing a high quality song is paid in early development. Stressful early-life experiences have adverse effects on the development of the neural circuitry that regulates song learning and production, which results in a male advertising with a low quality song in adulthood. The purpose of this thesis was to test the developmental stress hypothesis in several respects in European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). My objectives were to assess the long-term effects of developmental stress on (1) …