BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY OF THE BACHMAN’S SPARROW (PEUCAEA AESTIVALIS)

Behavioral ecology is an integrative field that span many different topics from genes and physiology to ecology and evolutionary biology. In this dissertation, I studied territoriality, behavioral plasticity and syndromes, song learning, and natal dispersal in the Bachman’s sparrow (Peucaea aestivalis), an imperiled songbird that is understudied in many aspects of its behavior. In chapter one, I provide a background of behavioral ecology, the topics covered in this dissertation, and the Bachman’s sparrow. In chapter two, I determine if the ideal despotic distribution applies to Bachman’s sparrows. In chapter three, I examine whether two common personality traits, aggressiveness and boldness, are consistent over time and form a behavioral syndrome, or if they change in relation to environmental variables. My last chapter infers song learning and natal dispersal strategies in Bachman’s sparrows from examining patterns song-type sharing over geographic distance.