Comparison of vanishing bearings, orientation directions and ringing recoveries of spring migrant White-throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis)

1990 ◽  
Vol 131 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth P. Able
Keyword(s):  
Zonotrichia Albicollis ◽  
Spring Migrant

White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. B. Falls ◽  
J. G. Kopachena
Keyword(s):  
Zonotrichia Albicollis

scholarly journals Boreal Forest Songbird Communities of the Liard Valley, Northwest Territories, Canada

The Condor ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 105 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig S. Machtans ◽  
Paul B. Latour
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Northwest Territories ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Bird Community ◽  
Deciduous Forests ◽  
Zonotrichia Albicollis ◽  
Catharus Ustulatus ◽  
Regional Patterns ◽  
Dendroica Coronata ◽  
Spizella Passerina

Abstract Songbird communities in the boreal forest of the Liard Valley, Northwest Territories, Canada, are described after three years of study. Point count stations (n = 195) were placed in six types of forest (mature deciduous, coniferous, and mixedwood; young forests; wooded bogs; clearcuts) in a 700-km2 area. Vegetation characteristics at each station were also measured. Eighty-five species of birds (59 passerine species) occurred in 11 647 detections. Mixedwood forests had the highest richness of songbirds (∼41 species per 800 individuals) of the six forest types, and contained approximately 30% more individuals than nearly pure coniferous or deciduous forests. Species richness and relative abundance was 10–50% lower than in comparable forests farther south and east, and the difference was most pronounced in deciduous forests. Communities were dominated by a few species, especially Tennessee Warbler (Vermivora peregrina), Magnolia Warbler (Dendroica magnolia), Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus), Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata) and Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina). White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis), a dominant species in boreal forests farther south, was notably scarce in all forests except clearcuts. Clearcuts and wooded bogs had the simplest communities, but had unique species assemblages. Canonical correspondence analysis showed that the bird community was well correlated with vegetation structure. The primary gradient in upland forests was from deciduous to coniferous forests (also young to old, respectively). The secondary gradient was from structurally simple to complex forests. These results allow comparisons with other boreal areas to understand regional patterns and help describe the bird community for conservation purposes. Comunidades de Aves Canoras de Bosques Boreales del Valle de Liard, Territorios del Noroeste, Canadá Resumen. Luego de tres años de estudio, se describen las comunidades de aves canoras de bosques boreales del Valle de Liard, Territorios del Noroeste, Canadá. Se ubicaron estaciones de conteo de punto (n = 195) en seis tipos de bosque (maduro caducifolio, conífero y de maderas mixtas; bosques jóvenes; pantanos arbolados; zonas taladas) en un área de 700 km2. Las características de la vegetación en cada estación también fueron medidas. Se registraron 85 especies de aves (59 especies de paserinas) en 11 647 detecciones. Los bosques mixtos presentaron la mayor riqueza de aves canoras (∼41 especies por 800 individuos) de los seis tipos de bosque, y contuvieron aproximadamente 30% individuos más que los bosques de coníferas y los caducifolios. La riqueza de especies y la abundancia relativa fue 10–50% menor que en bosques comparables más al sur y al este, y la diferencia fue más pronunciada en los bosques caducifolios. Las comunidades estuvieron dominadas por unas pocas especies, especialmente Vermivora peregrina, Dendroica magnolia, Catharus ustulatus, Dendroica coronata y Spizella passerina. Zonotrichia albicollis, una especie dominante en bosques boreales más al sur, fue notablemente escasa en todos los bosques, excepto en las zonas taladas. Las áreas taladas y los pantanos arbolados tuvieron las comunidades más simples, pero presentaron ensamblajes únicos. Análisis de correspondencia canónica mostraron que la comunidad de aves estuvo bien correlacionada con la estructura de la vegetación. El gradiente primario en bosques de zonas altas fue de bosque caducifolio a conífero (también de joven a viejo, respectivamente). El gradiente secundario fue de bosques estructuralmente simples a bosques complejos. Estos resultados permiten hacer comparaciones con otros bosques boreales para entender los patrones regionales y ayudar a describir las comunidades de aves con fines de conservación.

Song pitch – habitat relationships in white-throated sparrows: cracks in acoustic windows?

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (11) ◽  
pp. 2578-2581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph R. Waas
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Inverse Relationship ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Zonotrichia Albicollis ◽  
Acoustic Window ◽  
Wrong Reason ◽  
Foliage Density ◽  
The Right ◽  
Forest Habitats

I compared the hypothesis that birds singing from song posts above 1–2 m should sing in as low a pitch as possible regardless of habitat type, with the traditional "acoustic window" hypothesis which argues that selection favours an inverse relationship between song pitch and foliage density. Songs of white-throated sparrows, Zonotrichia albicollis, were obtained from four habitats which could be arranged in a gradient of foliage density. The pitch of these songs was found to be inversely related to the density of foliage in the habitat occupied, consistent with the acoustic window hypothesis. Significant pitch variation occurred not only between open and forest habitats, but also between mixed and boreal forest habitats. I distinguish between hypotheses that could explain support for the traditional hypothesis despite recent data suggesting that low pitched sound travels best regardless of habitat at song post heights used by white-throated sparrows (5–10 m). I conclude that the acoustic window model may make the right prediction for the wrong reason in white-throated sparrows. I emphasize the need to define and test the assumptions of models before the models themselves are accepted on the basis of support for their predictions.

Kinematics of birdsong: functional correlation of cranial movements and acoustic features in sparrows

1993 ◽  
Vol 182 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. W. Westneat ◽  
J. H. Long ◽  
W. Hoese ◽  
S. Nowicki
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Acoustic Properties ◽  
Zonotrichia Albicollis ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
Acoustic Frequency ◽  
Mean Frequency ◽  
Singing Behavior ◽  
Resonance Properties ◽  
Melospiza Georgiana

The movements of the head and beak of songbirds may play a functional role in vocal production by influencing the acoustic properties of songs. We investigated this possibility by synchronously measuring the acoustic frequency and amplitude and the kinematics (beak gape and head angle) of singing behavior in the white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) and the swamp sparrow (Melospiza georgiana). These birds are closely related emberizine sparrows, but their songs differ radically in frequency and amplitude structure. We found that the acoustic frequencies of notes in a song have a consistent, positive correlation with beak gape in both species. Beak gape increased significantly with increasing frequency during the first two notes in Z. albicollis song, with a mean frequency for note 1 of 3 kHz corresponding to a gape of 0.4 cm (a 15 degrees gape angle) and a mean frequency for note 2 of 4 kHz corresponding to a gape of 0.7 cm (a 30 degrees gape angle). The relationship between gape and frequency for the upswept third note in Z. albicollis also was significant. In M. georgiana, low frequencies of 3 kHz corresponding to beak gapes of 0.2-0.3 cm (a 10–15 degrees break angle), whereas frequencies of 7–8 kHz were associated with flaring of the beak to over 1 cm (a beak angle greater than 50 degrees). Beak gape and song amplitude are poorly correlated in both species. We conclude that cranial kinematics, particularly beak movements, influence the resonance properties of the vocal tract by varying its physical dimensions and thus play an active role in the production of birdsong.

Multiple regression analyses of midwinter fattening of the white-throated sparrow

1986 ◽  
Vol 64 (11) ◽  
pp. 2405-2411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles R. Blem ◽  
Michael H. Shelor
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Multiple Regression ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Multiple Regression Model ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Zonotrichia Albicollis ◽  
Independent Variables ◽  
Average Temperature ◽  
Extreme High Temperature

Midwinter lipid depots of the white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) at Richmond, Virginia, are correlated with a suite of environmental and morphological variables. Lipid reserves allow this species to survive even the most extreme winter conditions for several hours. Variables having the greatest individual correlations with lipid reserve are average temperature of the 20 days prior to capture, fat class, body weight, and long-term (32-year) average temperature of the date of capture. A comprehensive multiple regression model based on analyses of all possible independent variables accounts for 87% of the variation in lipid reserves. The most important independent variables in this model are body weight, mean temperature of the 20 days preceding collection, fat class, extreme high temperature of the day of capture, long-term average temperature, relative humidity, chill factor, wet-bulb temperatures of the day before and the day of capture, wing length, and precipitation. The "best" equation using only measurements of environment as independent variables included time of collection in hours after sunrise and hours before sunset, Eastern Standard Time, temperature of the 20 days prior to capture, and mean wind velocity of the day before capture. Models computed solely from temperature measurements included dry-bulb temperatures of the day of capture and the day before capture, low extreme temperatures of the day of capture, wet-bulb temperatures of the day before capture, and the 20-day average dry-bulb temperature of the period prior to collection. Fattening in response to weather conditions appears to be a form of "fine-tuning" of energy reserves superimposed on a more stable, intrinsic cycle of winter fattening.

scholarly journals Genome-wide variation in DNA methylation linked to developmental stage and chromosomal suppression of recombination in white-throated sparrows

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Sun ◽  
Thomas S. Layman ◽  
Hyeonsoo Jeong ◽  
Paramita Chatterjee ◽  
Kathleen Grogan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Chromosome Pair ◽  
Dna Methyltransferases ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Zonotrichia Albicollis ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Nucleotide Resolution

ABSTRACTDNA methylation is known to play critical roles in key biological processes. Most of our knowledge on regulatory impacts of DNA methylation has come from laboratory-bred model organisms, which may not exhibit the full extent of variation found in wild populations. Here, we investigated naturally-occurring variation in DNA methylation in a wild avian species, the white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis). This species offers exceptional opportunities for studying the link between genetic differentiation and phenotypic traits because of a non-recombining chromosome pair linked to both plumage and behavioral phenotypes. Using novel single-nucleotide resolution methylation maps and gene expression data, we show that DNA methylation and the expression of DNA methyltransferases are significantly higher in adults than in nestlings. Genes for which DNA methylation varied between nestlings and adults were implicated in development and cell differentiation and were located throughout the genome. In contrast, differential methylation between plumage morphs was localized to the non-recombining chromosome pair. One subset of CpGs on the non-recombining chromosome was extremely hypomethylated and localized to transposable elements. Changes in methylation predicted changes in gene expression for both chromosomes. In summary, we demonstrate changes in genome-wide DNA methylation that are associated with development and with specific functional categories of genes in white-throated sparrows. Moreover, we observe substantial DNA methylation reprogramming associated with the suppression of recombination, with implications for genome integrity and gene expression divergence. These results offer an unprecedented view of ongoing epigenetic reprogramming in a wild population.

scholarly journals Alternative reproductive strategies in white-throated sparrows are associated with differences in parasite load following experimental infection

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 20180194 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Boyd ◽  
T. R. Kelly ◽  
S. A. MacDougall-Shackleton ◽  
E. A. MacDougall-Shackleton
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Life History ◽  
Optimal Allocation ◽  
Parasite Load ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Zonotrichia Albicollis ◽  
Load Following ◽  
Infection Susceptibility ◽  
Immune Defences ◽  
Androgen Levels

Immune defences often trade off with other life-history components. Within species, optimal allocation to immunity may differ between the sexes or between alternative life-history strategies. White-throated sparrows ( Zonotrichia albicollis ) are unusual in having two discrete plumage morphs, white-striped and tan-striped. Within each sex, white-striped individuals are more aggressive and provide less parental care than tan-striped individuals. We extended immunocompetence handicap models, which predict sex differences in immunity and parasitism, to hypothesize that infection susceptibility should be greater in white-striped than tan-striped birds. We inoculated birds of both morphs with malarial parasites. Contrary to our prediction, among birds that became infected, parasite loads were higher in tan-striped than white-striped individuals and did not differ between the sexes. Circulating androgen levels did not differ between morphs but were higher in males than females. Our findings are not consistent with androgen-mediated immunosuppression. Instead, morph differences in immunity could reflect social interactions or life-history-related differences in risk of injury, and/or genetic factors. Although plumage and behavioural morphs of white-throated sparrow may differ in disease resistance, these differences do not parallel sex differences that have been reported in animals, and do not appear to be mediated by differences in androgen levels.

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