Current Research
During the summer of 2003 I will continue my ongoing project on the mating system of the house wren. This research falls under the area of animal behavior, or more specifically behavioral ecology. Currently I work with Tom Guy, a public school science teacher from Faribault and member of the Rice County Bird Club. Our study area is near Big Woods State Park, and consists of some 35 acres of woods.
In past years we have concentrated on general mating behavior, testing of various hypotheses for the evolution of polygyny in birds, and differences in reproductive success among individual wrens. Currently we are concentrating on the song of male wrens, how they communicate with each other and with females, and the function of the song. We are also interested in the begging sounds of young in the nest. This involves tape recording and computer analysis of vocalizations.
