Jeff Podos -- Summary of Research Interests

 

                         

My research addresses the mechanics, development, and evolution of animal communication, using birdsong as a primary model system. Current field work focuses on song in Darwin's finches of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. One of the distinctive attributes of Darwin's finches is the remarkable diversity they express in beak form and function, represented at its extremes by the thin probing beaks of warbler finches and the massive seed-crushing beaks of large ground finches.  My work examines the consequences of this diversification on vocal proficiency and song structure, following from recent data and models concerning the role of the beak in sound production.  I have found that beak size correlates closely with vocal proficiency; birds with larger beaks produce songs with comparatively slow trill rates and ranges of source frequencies, and vice versa. The acoustic consequences of morphological diversity are evident not only across species but also within an especially abundant and variable species, the medium ground finch, Geospiza fortis.  Ongoing work aims to characterize the role of beak movements during song production, using high speed video analysis of wild singing birds; to evaluate the functions of song through use of playback experiments, especially with respect to vocal features shaped by performance capacities; and to further document variation in song structure.  Together these studies will help to characterize relationships between morphological adaptation, vocal evolution, and reproductive isolation.

 

A second main line of research examines vocal learning and evolution in North American sparrows. Songbird songs are wonderfully diverse, not only across species but also within species, populations, and individuals.  The evolution of this diversity is linked to song learning; vocal features that emerge through learning will be retained over evolutionary time through cultural transmission.  Laboratory work aims to characterize the influences of acoustic experience and production mechanics on vocal development in songbirds. Experimental studies of vocal learning in hand-reared sparrows are used to assess how limits on vocal proficiency constrain the evolution of vocal frequency, timing, and syntax features. Complementary laboratory activities include quantitative surveys of vocal diversity using bioacoustic analyses, characterization of vocal motor patterns through high-speed video analyses, and experimental manipulation of vocal tract function.

 

            Additional information can be found at my laboratory website:  http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/podos

---

 

 

           

 Intellectual development material

It is a wonderful privilege to be able to study animals and their behavior, and especially to do so as a vocation.  Like most ABS members, my interest in animals traces back to my childhood; my brother Steve and I had a particularly keen interest in toads, which we would chase around local water reservoirs on warm summer evenings.  At that point I never dreamed that chasing animals could be turned into a career!  I learned of this happy possibility through my mentors at Franklin & Marshall College, especially Drs. Roger Thompson, Paul DuBowy, Jonathan Richardson, who not only reinforced my interests in biology but also provided valuable and diverse research opportunities.  After teaching high school for a year, I somehow convinced ABS fellow Dr. Stephen Nowicki to take me on as a graduate student.  Steve got me hooked on animal communication and birdsong, and much of my current research program emerged directly from our interactions.  I am grateful to Steve for his continued support, for introducing me to the professional world of animal behavior (Steve seems to know everyone in the ABS!), and for his enthusiasm in our ongoing collaborations.