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Developmental stress, social rank and song complexity in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
journal contribution
posted on 2004-02-07, 00:00 authored by K Spencer, Kate BuchananKate Buchanan, A Goldsmith, C CatchpoleBird song is a sexually selected trait and females have been shown to prefer males that sing more complex songs. However, for repertoire size to be an honest signal of male quality it must be associated with some form of cost. This experiment investigates the effects of food restriction and social status during development on song complexity in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris). Birds that experienced an unpredictable food supply early in life produced a significantly smaller repertoire of song phrases than those with a constant food supply. Social status during development was also significantly correlated with repertoire size, with dominant birds producing more phrase types. This study therefore provides novel evidence that social as well as nutritional history may be important in shaping the song signal in this species.
History
Journal
Proceedings of the royal society : B supplementVolume
271Issue
3Season
supplement issuePublisher
The Royal Society PublishingLocation
London, EnglandISSN
0962-8452eISSN
1420-9101Language
engPublication classification
C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2003, The Royal SocietyUsage metrics
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