Gall Lab Publishes in Animal Behaviour

The Gall Lab, in association with Dr. Alejandro Velez (currently at Washington University) and Dr. Jeffrey Lucas (Purdue University), has published a new article in the journal Animal Behaviour. In the article we investigate how the ability to process frequency and temporal information in three species of songbirds (Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, and White-breasted Nuthatches) varies seasonally. We found that hearing in males and females converges during the winter months, but in the spring males and females diverge. Moreover, temporal resolution seems to be greater in the winter months, matching the calls they produce during this time. In the spring, the processing of frequency information is enhanced. We suspect that this may be a result of animals switching from a non-reproductive to reproductive condition.  This improved frequency processing may enhance the ability of females to choose mates based on their songs (vocal signals used in reproduction). You can read more about our findings here.

Velez, A., Gall, M.D., and Lucas, J.R. 2015. Seasonal plasticity in auditory processing of the envelope and temporal fine structure of sounds in three songbirds. Animal Behavior, 103: 53-63.