Evidence for vocal learning and limited dispersal as dual mechanisms for dialect maintenance in a parrot.

ABSTRACT: Studies of avian vocal dialects commonly find evidence of geographic and acoustic stability in the face of substantial gene flow between dialects. The vocal imitation and reduced dispersal hypotheses are alternatives to explain this mismatch between vocal and genetic variation. We experimentally simulated dispersal in the yellow-naped amazon (Amazona auropalliata) by moving individuals within and across dialect boundaries in Costa Rica. One juvenile translocated across dialect boundaries altered its contact call to imitate the acoustic form of the local call six weeks post-release. In contrast, four adults translocated across dialect boundaries returned to their original capture site within 120 days, while five cross-dialect translocated adults who remained at the release site did not alte

SUBMITTER: Salinas-Melgoza A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3490863 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature