In a recent study done by the University of Guelph, the songs of male sparrows were found to change over time. Over a 30 year period, the songs that male sparrows sing have changed noticeably. Scientists noted that is similar to changes in human speech i.e. we don't talk the same we did 30 years ago. Certain words have fallen out of disuse while certain words and slang are popular today. In male sparrows, scientists found that the last part of a male sparrow's song has changed from a long, high frequency trill to a short, low frequency trill. This may be associated with fertility; males who sang short, low frequency trills were more fertile and more likely to pass on their genes. This is important evidence of the cultural evolution of a species, and it is especially significant because we can use the birds to study our own evolution.
Link: http://www.macroevolution.net/cultural-evolution.html#.UR256qWtySo
NOS Themes:
*Scientific theories are based on evidence. In a relatively short amount of time (30 years), scientists have found evidence to support the theory of evolution and natural selection.
*Science is collaborative. Over 30 years many scientists studied the sparrows in this study. Evolution is also a common topic of study in science.
* Motive and curiosity: the scientists in this study were curious about how an animal species's "culture" evolves over time, similar to our own. They wanted to make a connection between the sparrows' evolution and that of humans.
When I looked at the title of this, I immediately thought it was like our language and how it changed over the years, and as I read on, I realized that was part of the article! I liked that the researchers kept comparing the birds to humans, making it much more relatable. I also thought it was very interesting when they mentioned that birds with shorter, low-frequency trills were more likely to pass on their genes. That really shows that Charles Darwin's evolution theory is everywhere. The birds did pass on their genes, and now a larger proportion of them have the same low-frequency trill at the end.
ReplyDeleteThat is very interesting to think about that although we talk a certain way now, people didn't talk like that 30 years ago. I liked how the research team told the reader about how each bird had his own unique voice and that they learned their songs from people around them including their fathers or male birds in the area. It was fascinating to learn that, like birds, each human has a unique voice and that over time, the bird's songs can change as well as human's voices.
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