Distant Drumming: morphological correlates of habitat and courtship behaviour in the Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus)

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dc.contributor.authorKrilow, Justin M.
dc.contributor.supervisorIwaniuk, Andrew N.
dc.date.accessioned2014-10-03T20:14:59Z
dc.date.available2014-10-03T20:14:59Z
dc.date.issued2014-10-03
dc.degree.levelMastersen_US
dc.description.abstractThe Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) is a resident game bird of North America. Unlike other birds, male Ruffed Grouse do not vocalize during courtship, and are dependent upon ‘drumming’, a ‘wingbeat’ display, for the acoustic component of their courtship behaviour. Because this wingbeat display is unique, I investigated morphological correlates that could underlie its production. First, I examined wing shape among grouse from museum specimens using various morphometrics. I found that wing morphology corresponds with habitat, behaviour and phylogentic relationships within Tetraoninae. Next, I examined the brains of male and female Ruffed Grouse. I detected seasonal plasticity between males collected during the breeding and non-breeding seasons; those collected during the breeding season had larger motor regions than those collected during the non-breeding season. My findings indicate that habitat and wing shape are correlated among grouse, and that seasonal changes in brain morphology contribute to the production of the drumming display.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10133/3509
dc.language.isoen_CAen_US
dc.proquest.subject[0602]
dc.proquest.subject[0475]
dc.proquest.subject[0412]
dc.proquestyesYesen_US
dc.publisherLethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Neuroscience
dc.publisher.departmentNeuroscienceen_US
dc.publisher.facultyArts and Scienceen_US
dc.relation.ispartofseriesThesis (University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science)
dc.subjectAvian brain,en_US
dc.subjectcourtship behaviour
dc.subjectgeometric morphometrics
dc.subjectRuffed Grouse
dc.subjectseasonal plasticity
dc.subjectwing shape
dc.titleDistant Drumming: morphological correlates of habitat and courtship behaviour in the Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus)en_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
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