Date of Award
Fall 12-16-2020
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Departments/Programs
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