Wandering Tattler - November 2011.pdf - Nature Vancouver

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she does know that these changes in song do affect both maleand female behaviour.The results add to a growing body of evidence that theacoustic and visual communications of animals change withtheir habitat. "Given how much the world's habitats arechanging, this is sort of an unexpected but useful factor tomonitor," Derryberry said. She's now testing the broadereffects of ecology on song evolution in birds across areas ofSouth America where habitat may be changing due todeforestation and global warming.Derryberry, who earlier discovered that female white-crownedsparrows preferred the slower new songs to the chirpy oldones, is now a researcher at Louisiana State University.White-crowned sparrow. When the going gets rough, the toughapparently sing slower. (Credit: iStockphoto/Chad Ivany)Science Daily (May 21, 2009)FIRST EVIDENCE THAT BIRDSTWEET USING GRAMMARThey may not have verbs, nouns or past participles, butbirds challenge the notion that humans alone have evolvedgrammatical rules.Bengal finches have their own versions of such rules –known as syntax – says Kentaro Abe of Kyoto University,Japan. "Songbirds have a spontaneous ability to processsyntactic structures in their songs," he says.To show a sense of syntax in the animals, Abe's teamplayed jumbled "ungrammatical" remixes of finch songs tothe birds and measured the response calls.Although many animals, including dogs, parrots and apes areknown to interpret and construct "sentences", andrecognize human words for individual objects, Abe saysthat only his finches have been shown to have a form ofgrammar in their utterances. Similar claims have been madefor whale song, however.In the wild, Bengal finches call back vigorously wheneverthey hear unfamiliar songs, usually from intruding finches.In the lab, Abe and colleague Dai Watanabe of the JapanScience and Technology Agency in Saitama exploited thesereactions to gauge whether finches could notice"ungrammatical" songs.The rulesFirst, they played finches unfamiliar songs repeatedly untilthe birds got used to them and stopped overreacting. Thenthey jumbled up syllables within each song and replayedthese versions to the birds."What we found was unexpected," says Abe. The birdsreacted to only one of the four jumbled versions, calledSEQ2, as if they noticed it violated some rule of grammar,whereas the other three remixes didn't. Almost 90 percent of the birds tested responded in this way. "Thisindicates the existence of a specific rule in the sequentialorderings of syllables in their songs, shared within thesocial community," Abe told New Scientist.In subsequent experiments Abe showed that the rules werenot innate – they had to be learned. Birds raised in isolationfailed to react to SEQ2 until they had spent two weekswith other birds. He also taught birds unnaturalgrammatical rules by habituating them to one of hisjumbled versions, then gauging their reactions to remixedversions that violated the "artificial" rules.Finally, Abe chemically destroyed an area of the braincalled the anterior nidopallium in some birds, and wasthereby able to demonstrate that it is vital for registeringfaulty grammar. In humans, a region called Broca's area isactivated when we hear ungrammatical sentences, so Abesuggests that studying the counterpart region in finchesmight throw new light on the origins of human grammar.Bird words?Constance Scharff, who works on birdsong at the FreeUniversity of Berlin, Germany, says the work is importantbecause it is often claimed that humans are the onlyspecies that uses grammar."It's an ingenious experiment showing that birds aresensitive to changes in song that are consistent withdifferent grammars," she says. "More and more, we areseeing similarities between humans and animals, and thatmakes some people uneasy."Journal reference: Nature Neuroscience,DOI: 10.1038/nn.2869Andy Coghlan26 June 2011The Wandering Tattler – November 2011 page 10
VISIT THE WEBSITE FOR MANY MORE PROGRAMSwww.birdsonthebay.caSunday November 13 10am – 2pmSeawall Waterfowl BlitzJoin Stanley Park Ecology staff and volunteers as they countevery bird that they can find along the Stanley Park seawall.This will be a great experience for people learning to identifybirds or people who want to gain practice at conducting birdsurveys. All experience levels are encouraged to attend. Bydonation to SPES . Meet: The Nature House at Lost Lagoon,Stanley Park Host: Stanley Park Ecology Society Info & Reg:604-681-7099 or conservation@stanleyparkecology.caSaturday November 19 9am-11amBird Walk at Serpentine Wildlife Management AreaDiscover the birds that make the Serpentine WildlifeManagement Area home and see the migrant travellers restingin the safety of the wetlands. Join us on a walk and get toknow our feathered friends. No experience necessary. Bringbinoculars and field guide if you have them. Wear comfortablewaterproof foot wear, dress warmly. Rain or shine. FREE.Meet: From the King George Hwy, turn west on 44 Ave (at ArtKnapp's Nursery). Proceed down the road to the parking lot onthe left. Host: Surrey Parks Info: 604-501-5158Sunday November 20 1:30 – 3:30pmFeathers, Forests and ForeshoresCurious about swan songs and Harlequin romances? Want todabble with ducks? Wade into waterfowl with naturalistMurray Lashmar as we discover the wide array of avian speciesaround Lost Lagoon., the seawall, & Beaver Lake. Cost:Members $5. Public $10.00 Meet: Stanley Park Nature Houseat Lost Lagoon Host: Stanley Park Ecology Society Info &Reg: 604-718-6522 programs@stanleyparkecology.caSunday December 11 11am – 3pmA Day for the BirdsTake a tour of the Richmond Nature Park’s wildlife garden andlearn how you can make your garden a habitat for birds. ThisFREE event takes an ecological approach and highlightsresponsible feeding practices. Adults – Walk and talk Meet:Richmond Nature Park – 11851 Westminster Hwy Host: City ofRichmond & Richmond Nature Park Society Info: 604-718-6188 www.richmond.caBirds on the Bay and Beyond is a program of Friends ofSemiahmoo Bay Society – Celebrating their 10 th AnniversaryCheck the website for upcoming course.Derek J. MatthewsVancouver Avian Research CentreMaster Bander / Bander-in-ChargeTel: (604) 218-1191 Fax: (604) 684-0308Email: Derek@birdvancouver.comWebsite: http://www.birdvancouver.com2011 CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT DATES…..It is never too early to get the dates in your calendar (thatway you can always say “Sorry, I am busy that day” when youget invites to family events - -Again this year, due to Christmas and Boxing Day being on aweekend some of the counts are moving to week days.Vancouver CBC – SUNDAY December 18Ladner CBC – TUESDAY December 27White Rock, Surrey (and Langley) CBC – MONDAY January 2I will be adding more dates as they are finalized for the LowerMainland Counts and adding the coordinator info.The Wandering Tattler – November 2011 page 11
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Wandering Tattler - November 2011.pdf - Nature Vancouver

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