A research project led by a University of Lethbridge undergraduate has revealed evidence of an evolutionary relationship between migration and vocal duetting in birds.
A research project led by a University 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.
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Image via University of Lethbridge.
