Operant conditioning and copulation solicitation display assays reveal a stable preference for local song by female swamp sparrows <Emphasis Type="Italic">Melospiza georgiana</Emphasis> |
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Authors: | Rindy C Anderson |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biology, Duke University, P.O. Box 90338, Durham, NC 27708, USA |
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Abstract: | Operant conditioning assays are increasingly being used to test mating signal preferences in female birds. Operant behavior
may be seen as farther removed from mate choice behavior as compared to other methods for measuring mating signal preferences,
which could limit the evolutionary interpretation of operant results. I compared the song preferences of female swamp sparrows
(Melospiza georgiana) as measured both by a copulation solicitation display assay and by an operant preference test. Both methods revealed a strong
preference for songs from the females' Conneaut Marsh breeding population over songs from a Millbrook population over 500 km
distant, which remained stable after extensive exposure to Millbrook songs. Further, there was a striking congruence in results
on an individual level from the two assays. These findings support the conclusion that operant methods reveal evolutionarily
significant mate choice preferences, providing the opportunity to study such preferences under circumstances when the copulation
solicitation assay is less practical. |
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