Event:

Bird song is known as the acoustic analogue of the peacock’s tail, and is often used as a model in sexual selection studies.
Most research has focused on between-individual differences in song traits and investigated questions about how aspects
of male quality can be signalled and how these can be translated into fitness benefits. However, bird song is a very special
in a sense that it can also show a considerable variation within individuals, while spatio-temporal patters define biologically
important patterns of variations at the between-population level. My research group has been studying the song of the collared
flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis), which has a modestly complex system with males using 15-50 different syllable types in
their individual-specific repertoires that they vary with high plasticity. In our earlier studies, by adopting the classical focus
from behavioural ecology on between-individual variations, we determined the information content of male repertoires its
relationship with mating success. More recently, we investigate how songs change within individuals across different temporal
windows (within- and between days, and between years) and how such reaction norms differ among individuals and what
are the fitness consequences of this variation. At a higher level, we study compositional changes in song at the between-population
level, which open horizons for understanding the dynamics of cultural evolution. In my talk, I will provide examples
from our model species to demonstrate the evolutionary relevance of the complex hierarchical organization of bird song.