Behavior and Ethology Commons^™

Determining The Impacts Of Urbanization On Song Structure And Its Function In Territorial Defense For Gray Catbirds (Dumetella Carolinensis), Morgan L. Rhodes

Masters Theses, 2020-current

In urbanized habitats, animals are faced with novel selection pressures such as differences in community structure and increased urban noise. Urban noise pollution can negatively impact songbirds as low-frequency noise often masks portions of birds’ mating signal and reduces signal transmission. Previous research has demonstrated that songs of birds in more urban habitats have structural differences that enhance signal transmission when noise is present. These studies have focused on species that deliver short, stereotyped songs with limited repertoires. Gray catbirds (Dumetella carolinensis, family: Mimidae) sing long bouts containing imitated, improvised, and invented song elements, and therefore may have …