William A. Searcy- Bird Song and the Problem of Signal Reliability

Lectures  |  Wed, May 7, 2008 3:30 PM, Speaker: William A. Searcy  Maytag Professor of Ornithology, Department of Biology, University of Miami   Reliability is a problem for bird song in both its function as a signal of male quality during mate choice and its function as a signal of aggressive intent during male-male contests. Signalers may be selected to cheat through exaggeration in both contexts, but if cheating becomes too widespread, the signaling system is expected to break down. We have investigated reliability and its maintenance in the song of two species of songbirds, song sparrows and swamp sparrows. Sponsor info.: Department of Psychology 206-543-2640 Mike Beecher, host. beecher@u.washington.edu Location: Physics-Astronomy Building A-114. Q & A and reception following., Cost: Free.

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