Graduation Term

2021

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

School of Biological Sciences

Committee Chair

Angelo P Capparella

Abstract

Animal signals used for communication, such as vocalizations and other sounds, are not produced in a vacuum, but evolve under a suite of selective pressures, including environmental and social factors, sender and receiver physiology, habitat features, and predation pressure, as well as phylogenetic history and morphological constraints. However, the extent to which these pressures have shaped the calling behavior of the avian family Rallidae is relatively unknown, despite the variety of different vocalizations of rails and the extent to which they use duetting and exhibit conspecific attraction. Here I answer a series of questions related to the adaptive drivers of call timing and its consequences in rails, using the Sora (Porzana carolina) as a model species in the first two studies – a rail species particularly amenable for research into antipredator strategies and calls during nocturnal settlement – and a broad sampling of species in the family Rallidae in the third study, to uncover the socio-ecological traits that have evolved in association with duets in these birds.

Access Type

Dissertation-Open Access

DOI

https://doi.org/10.30707/ETD2021.20220215070316950069.999993

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