Rose Capek Organismal Biology
Stephen Ferguson Assistant Professor of Biology
Presentation Time: April 28, 2:30pm – 3pm
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Abstract
Florida Scrub Jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens) are endemic to Florida and use weep, scold, or growl calls to communicate. However, most female corvids produce a rattle call when alarmed that the males do not. Regional calls are common in general vocalization patterns, but have not been particularly well described in rattles outside of the Florida Scrub Jays. Due to the different dialects, birds from one region do not recognize the foreign rattle as the same species. In this project, digital recordings of bird vocalizations from different populations in Florida were accessed from the Macaulay Library and analyzed in Raven, bioacoustic analysis software, to help further a more detailed understanding of the calls of Florida Scrub Jays. Calls were sorted based on the types of vocalization contained in each recording. From there the syllables and tik syllables were determined and a population assigned based on X and Y coordinates. In this project I will discuss descriptions and extents of regional dialects across the range of Florida Scrub Jays.
