Our new paper: “Cumulative cultural evolution and mechanisms for cultural selection in wild bird songs”. Open access in Nature Communications: rdcu.be/cRr5x Led by Heather Williams with her students Williams College & our collaborative research team. Here’s the story... [1/8]

Join the Society of Canadian Ornithologists' conference online this weekend! 🇨🇦🐦 Catch 4 talks from our lab: Sat 3pm EDT: Camille Rondeau Saint-Jean (elle/she) & Sarah Dobney on sparrow song Sun 3pm EDT: SarikaS & Dr. Natalie V. Sánchez on sparrow and wren behaviour Open to all: scosoc2022.wordpress.com

In her first-ever conference talk, Sarika presented "How does density, age, and number of neighbours influence territory size in Savannah Sparrows?" at today's SCO-SOC conference. This talk summarized NSERC USRA research Sarika conducted in summer. Very proud of you SarikaS!

Our whole lab is very thankful to the SCO-SOC for organizing this conference, focused on early-career researchers! I'm proud of Camille Rondeau Saint-Jean (elle/she) Sarah Dobney SarikaS & Dr. Natalie V. Sánchez for their contributions to the Society of Canadian Ornithologists' conference this weekend!

(1/6) #AnimBehav2023 In most studied birds, males are the main agents in territorial defence, but in many species females take part in it, engaging vocally and physically with intruders. However, accounts of sex-specific differences in territorial responses are often lacking.

Hello #AnimBehav2023! Here I will discuss my research on Savannah Sparrow song transmission, from the perspective inside a nest! (1/7)

When are there too many in the neighbourhood? The effects of neighbours on vocal behaviour in birds Nearby animals modify the social context of communication. When density is high, animals may change their behaviour. We explore the effect of density on bird song #AnimBehav2023

1. Can we train a neural network to tell apart individual birds from their song? Can that algorithm pick up on cultural phenomena such as microdialects? That’s what we’re investigating by using the Savannah Sparrows of Kent Island, New Brunswick, as an example! #AnimBehav2023

Today I had the honor to give a Seminar for the Integrative Biology Department University of Guelph Thank you Alex Smith for the invitation! The seminar was recorded, so stay tune for the video! 🐦🎶🇨🇷🇨🇦

#UWINGradShowcase Songbirds use complex songs to defend territories and attract mates. But can song reveal specific individual traits? For my doctoral research University of Windsor, I study Savannah Sparrows in eastern Canada, to understand if male song predicts male parental effort. [1/6]

Do belugas belong to social communities? My PhD research University of Windsor analyzing the vocal behaviour of St. Lawrence belugas suggests that they do! [1/6] #UWINGradShowcase UWindsor Integrative Biology Science UWindsor

My first paper is published! "Effects of age, breeding strategy, population density, and number of neighbors on territory size and shape in Passerculus sandwichensis." Out now in Ornithology. Our team studied territoriality in an 11-year dataset. Read it: doi.org/10.1093/ornith…

The talented SarikaS from School of the Environment @ UWindsor used her advanced mapping skills to publish a journal article with Dan Mennill UWindsor Integrative Biology on Savannah Sparrows. Read about her academic adventures. bit.ly/46omtxm