TY - JOUR T1 - Geographic patterns of song similarity in the Dickcissel (Spiza americana) JF - Auk Y1 - 2008 A1 - Schook, D.M. A1 - Collins, M.D. A1 - Jensen, W.E. A1 - Williams, P.J. A1 - Bader, N.E. A1 - Parker, T.H. KW - culture KW - dialect KW - Dickcissel KW - Passeriformes KW - song sharing KW - spatial scale KW - Spiza americana AB -
Song sharing among neighboring males is a well-known, frequent outcome of song learning in oscine passerines and some other groups, but only limited investigations of the spatial scale of this phenomenon have been pursued. On the basis of recordings of 1,043 individuals, we investigated song sharing in Dickcissels (Spiza americana) at local and regional scales at sites from northern Kansas to northern Oklahoma. Classification of song elements revealed decreasing song similarity with increasing distances between individual birds at small to intermediate scales, to ~10 km. At the largest spatial scales (10–300 km between sites), there was very little similarity among sites and no obvious tendency for a decrease in similarity with increasing distances among our 30 sites. At our intensively sampled site, analyses of quantitative measurements showed that, at least for our most widely shared song element, frequency and duration were more similar in closer birds. Thus, distance between birds influences both quantitative and qualitative song similarity in Dickcissels. Variability existed among sites in the shape of the song-sharing decay curve, which indicates that other factors besides distance also govern song-sharing patterns. We found high repeatability of individual songs for both second-year (SY) and after-second-year (ASY) males throughout the season, and high conformity to the local song neighborhood in both SY and ASY males from their first recording soon after arrival in May. Returning ASY males sang the same song they had produced the previous breeding season.
VL - 125 UR - https://academic.oup.com/auk/article/125/4/953/5148170 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Nest desertion bya cowbird host: an anti-parasite behavior or a response to egg loss? JF - Behavioral Ecology Y1 - 2006 A1 - Kosciuch, K.L. A1 - Parker, T.H. A1 - Sandercock, B.K. KW - Bell's Vireo KW - brown-headed cowbird KW - egg predation KW - evolutionary lag KW - host–parasite coevolution KW - Molothrus ater KW - Vireo bellii AB - Natural selection can favor songbirds that desert nests containing eggs of the parasitic brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater). However, the high variability in desertion of parasitized nests within species is perplexing in light of the typically high costs of parasitism. Because nest desertion can also be a response to partial clutch predation, we first asked if Bell's vireos (Vireo bellii) deserted nests in response to the presence of cowbird eggs (antiparasite response hypothesis) or to egg removal by predators and female cowbirds (egg predation hypothesis). Second, we asked whether variation in nest desertion was due to intrinsic differences among individuals or to variation in nest contents. We monitored a large number of nests (n = 494) and performed a clutch manipulation experiment to test these hypotheses. The number of vireo eggs that remained in a nest was a strong predictor of desertion both within and among pairs. Neither the presence of a single cowbird egg, which leads to nest failure for this host, nor the number of cowbird eggs received in a vireo nest influenced nest desertion. Furthermore, vireos did not desert experimental nests when we immediately exchanged cowbird eggs for vireo eggs but deserted if we removed vireo eggs and replaced them with cowbird eggs the following morning. Desertion of parasitized nests by Bell's vireos can be almost entirely explained as a response to partial or complete clutch loss and does not appear to have been altered by selection from brood parasitism. VL - 17 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Biogeographic variation in nest placement: a case study with conservation implications JF - Diversity and Distributions Y1 - 2002 A1 - Parody, J.M. A1 - Parker, T.H. AB - Local habitat characteristics are often used to describe a species’ niche despite the fact that habitat use can vary across the geographical range. We sought to quantify variation in habitat preferences by asking how nesting habit varies within and between populations of Bell’s vireo (Vireo bellii) across its geographical range. Analyses of detailed nest placement data from three localities (Kansas, eastern New Mexico and western New Mexico) showed a general trend towards use of dense vegetation. However, there was substantial variation in nest placement and vegetation at nest sites between localities. Furthermore, a review of nest placement data from the literature shows strong differences in nest heights and species of trees even between populations less than 100 km apart. We evaluate these results in light of conservation and suggest that to be most effective, habitat conservation plans should be based on data collected at the locality where the population of interest occurs. VL - 8 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Responses of Bell's vireos to brood parasitism by the brown-headed cowbird in Kansas JF - Wilson Bulletin Y1 - 1999 A1 - Parker, T.H. AB - I studied patterns of cowbird parasitism and responses to this parasitism by Bell's Vireos (Vireo bellii) in Kansas. Bell's Vireos abandoned parasitized nests at a significantly higher rate than unparasitized nests. Lower probability of brood parasitism later in the season may help make abandonment followed by renesting beneficial. Burial of cowbird eggs by vireos was also observed in several cases. I did not detect a strong relationship between nest site vegetation characteristics and the probability of brood parasitism. VL - 111 UR - http://www.jstor.org/stable/4164135 ER - TY - THES T1 - Nest predation and its relationship to nest placement in tallgrass prairie shrub patches Y1 - 1997 A1 - Parker, T.H. PB - Kansas State University CY - Manhattan, KS VL - MS Thesis ER -