Developmental stress impairs song complexity but not learning accuracy in non-domesticated zebra finches (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Taeniopygia guttata</Emphasis>) |
| |
Authors: | R Zann E Cash |
| |
Institution: | (1) Department of Zoology, La Trobe University, Melbourne, 3086, Australia |
| |
Abstract: | Food restrictions early in life can have adverse effects on the development of adult avian song structure. Nutritional deficiencies
during brain development are thought to impair the growth of neural circuits responsible for learning and production of song
in adulthood. Thus, the quality of song may reflect the quality of the singer due to the costs associated with neural development
early in life. Recent investigations have focused on domesticated laboratory strains of zebra finches where early dietary
deficiencies have significantly reduced the complexity of song and its sexual attractiveness. Domesticated zebra finches may
be more sensitive to the early effects of moderate under-nutrition on song complexity than their non-domesticated counterparts.
In an aviary experiment with non-domesticated zebra finch stock, we found that song complexity when measured by a linear combination
of six variables was reduced in food-restricted birds, with syllable rate and maximum syllable frequency as the principal
variables affected. The restriction had no effect on learning accuracy when song phrases of experimental birds were compared
to those of their fathers.This result demonstrates that early nutrition may differentially affect the development of neural
processes that influence learning accuracy and song complexity. While the finding of negative effects of dietary restriction
on song complexity is robust for zebra finches and is not an artefact of domestication, it does not explain why some nutritionally
stressed populations of wild zebra finches have more complex songs than those from other regions of Australia characterised
by greater food availability. |
| |
Keywords: | Bird song Early nutritional deficiency Song complexity Learning accuracy Domestication |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|