Parental Investment Strategies in the Carolina Wren
Diane L. Neudorf, Associate Professor, Director of the Texas Bird Sound Library and Curator of Birds - Sam Houston State Vertebrate Museum

My current research deals with the topics of parental care and conservation in songbirds. I am particularly interested in how parental feeding and defense of the young is shared between the sexes in monogamous species. Carolina Wrens (Thryothorus ludovicianus) are a resident songbird of the eastern USA. They are not known to engage in mating outside the pair bond (i.e. extra-pair copulations) and they have long-term pair bonds. Due to their certainty of paternity males are expected to invest highly in offspring. Carolina wrens nest in a variety of habitats including both forest and urban areas with sufficient vegetation. The Carolina Wren is a common backyard bird but little is known about its behavior and reproductive success in urban habitats. I am interested in how wren parental care behavior and offspring survival may differ between urban versus natural habitats. The wren will nest in artificial cavities, which makes it ideal for student projects. REU projects will focus on quantifying male and female investment in offspring care through studies of nest defense and feeding rates in both urban and natural habitats. Radio-tracking will be used to monitor fledgling survival and parental feeding rates.

For more information on this REU opportunity, please e-mail Dr. Neudorf at neudorf@shsu.edu.