Date of Award
Fall 12-16-2020
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Dr. Caroline Dingle
Second Advisor
Dr. Ofer Tchernichovski
Academic Program Adviser
Dr. Diana Reiss
Abstract
Natural or human-mediated founder events can lead to changes in avian communication signals, potentially impacting the trajectory of evolution. Warbling white-eye (Zosterops japonicus) was introduced from Japan to the Hawaiian Islands between 1929 – ca. 1937. I recorded primary songs in Hawai‘i (O‘ahu, Big Island) and collected archival recordings, then conducted a comparative analysis between introduced and native song types which revealed significant differences in the O‘ahu and Big Island populations. To test for behavioral responses that corresponded to these differences, I presented conspecific playback stimuli (intra-island, inter-island, native) to individuals in Hawai‘i (O‘ahu, Big Island). Big Island individuals increased responses to songs from their own island across a range of indices. O‘ahu individuals responded at equal rates, indicating response asymmetry between these populations.
Recommended Citation
Robinson, Jesse D., "Evidence of Incipient Song Divergence in a Hawaiian Population of Warbling White-eyes" (2020). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_sas_etds/658