Northwest Foundation of Washington: 

William A. Searcy- Bird Song and the Problem of Signal Reliability
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UW Public Events on 06 May, 2008 11:00:00
 
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.