WFSC 402 1st Edition Exam 2 Study Guide Lectures 1 6 Lecture 1 October 2 Know the reasons for different types of plumage Displays Major functions o Territorial defense o Attraction for courtship You can categorize these two functions as courtship displays Pigmented Color A lot of variation Biochrome pigments o Melanin browns black gray all birds except albinos have this pigment o Carotenoids red orange yellow derived from diet Stored in egg yolk and body fat o porphyrins green red red brown this is a rare pigment Mostly in new feathers Easily degraded Turacin and Turacoverdin in Turacos Structural Color Physical alterations of light Blues and greens Iridescence with grays in stack Plumage Patterns A lot of variation o Cryptic for concealment molting and gain stripes o Bold colors for disruptive contrast can match dark and light aspects of background Countershading dark on top light on bottom concealment o Reverse countershading conspicuous Seasonality Environment Breeding season visual displays Molts Behavior Interactions between coloration season and behavior o Example white birds don t sit on dark colored rocks Evolution of displays has been derived by competition for females o Ritualized behaviors developed from other movements used for feeding or flight functions non signal movement o Similar among closely related species Bowing courtship displays for pelicans boobies anhingas and cormorants Agonistic Behavior o Competition for resources Aggression threats attacks warnings Courtship often starts as aggression Role of sexual selection o Traits that evolve in 1 sex are usually exaggerated by choice of the other Tails in peacocks Wing epaulets Size Good Genes vs Arbitrary Choice Why do females prefer larger males or better display o Because larger size and better courtship displays show that the male has genetic and physiological superiority Arbitrary choice females just pick males with exaggerate ornamentation runaway selection Lecture 2 October 7 Know the drawing of the syrinx and be able to label the different parts of it What is a sonogram used for Syrinx allows for birds to make a song located at the junction of trachea and bronchi Larynx to keep food and water out of trachea Sonogram measures song o http obiwannabe co uk tutorials html tutorial birds html kHz Birds are measured in seconds while bats are measure in miliseconds because they echolocate Time Primary song used all through breeding season Secondary song standard song Individual recognition studies have shown that birds are able to distinguish between their mate s calling and another individual s calls Birds begin singing their own song as soon as they start hearing sounds while in the egg Lecture 3 October 9 What is CSA What is the difference between migration and nomadism Conspecific attraction CSA to settle near individuals of their own species Migration o Occupation of different area seasonally o Nothing to do with distance o Why do birds migrate search for food and temperature change Nomadism more of a wanderer doesn t mean they can t migrate they are just more likely to wander around than to actually migrate Dispersal young of the year moving away o Colonization distribution genetic diversity Winter migration sexual segregation o Some species maintain their pair bond o Some males stay in one area o Females are more widely distributed When migrating to Mexico or anywhere in the south the Raptors take mainland while songbirds will fly across the Gulf of Mexico shortcut o Warblers use trade winds to migrate Go straight out to sea and ride trade winds to the south o Mostly migrate at night and high elevation to avoid predators Birds are in a hurry to get back North so they can find the habitat that provides the best breeding ground abundant food and predator protection Lecture 4 October 14 What are the different methods of navigation that birds use What are flyaways Navigation during Migration Methods 1 Visual landmarks o Relatively unimportant in most birds but used in both long distance and local orientation Homing pigeons and local surroundings NOT useful for young birds 2 Olfactory o NOT remarkable in most birds but is sufficiently acute in some to be used for navigation Procellariformes some seabirds orient to food sources through smell 3 Celestial sun stars 4 o Birds that migrate during the day use the sun as a compass o Star compassing Emlen performed several experiments with Garden Warblers and Indigo Buntings Found that physiology was stronger than any other navigation form Magnetic field o Magnetite and photopigments in the eye o Rhodopsin chromoprotein that is contained in the light sensitive cells of the retina o Intensity and inclination changes predictably with latitude o Studies o Robins in steel cages with no celestial cue were still able to orient properly o Homing pigeons with magnets Preference for solar compass o Coils on heads of pigeons reverse fields and birds directions Differential use by species Depends on scale o M C O V Acquisition o different species acquire these migration abilities in different ways learners cranes and geese follow their parents homing pigeons raised without seeing the sun can t use the sun as a compass when migrating o but they can learn later and their migration skills will get better with experience buntings raised without seeing stars have no ability to orient direction o must see starts regularly for first month of life in order to choose navigation path helps distinguish North and South o Genetic species Vector navigation White Storks migrate from European to northern Africa around Mediterranean Sea When displaced by weather they end up in the wrong location but adults can compensate because of learned experience Flyaways 4 major ones in North America 1 Atlantic migrating waterfowl 2 Mississippi longest migration route of Western Hemisphere about 3 000 miles of mountain free travel 3 Central most direct of North to South cast for migration 4 Pacific used by Arctic Turn longest distant migrant in world 2 000 miles each way Fall Warbler migration in New England o Gather on east coast and fly over Atlantic to catch trade winds o Continuous flight until they hit South America o About 86 hour flight Lecture 5 October 16 Social Behavior Behavior reaction to a stimulus o A stimulus is a cue in the organism s environment o Can be internal hormonal Reactions o Muscular verbal o Cardiovascular system increased heart rate o Secretory system sweat Inherited song