Research in The OVEN
Research in The OVEN involves a mix of field and lab research on avian ecology and behviour. Several of the major projects in the lab are described below.
Dawn Chorus
Dawn Chorus
The major goal of the Dawn Chorus Project is to investigate the functions of dawn vocal behaviour in passerine birds. We use automated recording to record dawn singing behaviour and song playback to test social hypotheses for dawn singing. Most recently, our team has been working in Hiawatha Highlands Conservation Area where the most common species that sing at dawn and the focus of our work include American Robin, Hermit Thrush, Veery, Black-capped Chickadee, Ovenbird, Nashville Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, White-throated Sparrow, and Chipping Sparrow.
Nocturnal Song
Nocturnal Song
The major goal of the Nocturnal Song Project is to investigate the functions of nocturnal song in diurnal passerines. This project is an extension of and a direct result of the Dawn Chorus Project. When recording well before twilight for a dawn chorus experiment, we discovered that several of our chorusing species in our forest community sang sporadically at night. We made several night-long recordings and were hooked. The two focal species of this project are White-throated Sparrows and Ovenbirds, both of which are frequent nocturnal singers.
Great Lakes
Migration
The major goal of the Great Lakes Migration Project is to understand the temporal pattern and density of migrant songbirds in the Great Lakes region. This project is a collaboration with Dan Mennill at the University of Windsor and involves recording migrants using a transect of autonomous recorders from Thunder Bay to Point Pelee. We record the species (or species group) specific night flight calls produced by migrating birds during their fall migratory journey. This project relies on the generosity of our many volunteers who run the recorders at their homes or workplaces. Many undergraduates at both Algoma University and the University of Windsor volunteer many hours of their time to scan the recordings and annotate the night flight calls within recordings. Without the volunteer recording station operators and student bioacoustic technicians, we would be unable to complete a project of this magnitude and for this we are very grateful for their time and energy on this project.
Algoma SwiftWatch
The major goals of Algoma SwiftWatch are to: 1) study Chimney Swifts roosting behaviour and monitor swift numbers at a large migratory roost in Sault Ste Marie and 2) to raise awareness of this threatened species in our local community. This project is a close collaboration among The OVEN, Jennie Pearce and the Sault Naturalists. The project involves webcameras oustide and within the Post Office chimney and within the Courthouse chimney. Public outreach activities include visiting local schools and community events, hosting Swift Night Out, and our livestream hosted by Northern Hoot. To see the swifts, visit the Queen Street roosts between May and August each year around dusk or tune in to the livestream.
Field
Methods
The lab uses bioacoustic and video technology to understand vocal communication and avian behaviour. Our research includes investigations of the utility of new technologies and novel uses for existing technologies.
BCCH
Song
The major goals of the Black-capped Chickadee (BCCH) Song Project are to study Communication Networks in chickadees using a microphone array to record neighbourhoods of chickadees. This recordings for this project were made at Queen's University Biological Station from 2005-2007 during my PhD (Laurene Ratcliffe, supervisor) and Lauren Fitzsimmons MSc (Dan Mennill, supervisor). These recordings were highly fruitful during our respective graduate studies. Presently, the four of us continue to work on this project using the recordings in new ways to better understand Black-capped Chickadee communication behaviour.
Plover Paparazzi
The major goals of the Plover Paparazzi project are to investigate how game cameras can be used to study plover nesting behaviour and inform management decisions. This project is a collaboration with Shannon Rowell-Garvon and Jasong Garvon at Lake Superior State University. Shannon and Jason work on Piping Plover habitat conservation in the Upper Penninsula or Michigan. Piping Plover monitors on their team identify nests, monitor nest exclosures, describe behaviour and engage in public outreach on nesting beaches. We thought that adding some photo/video recording and research to the project would be a good addition. Students at both Algoma University and Lake Superior State University participate in the project. To learn more about the Great Lakes Piping Plover Reocvery Effort, visit their blog.
Starling
begging
The main goals of the Starling Begging Project are to understand how European Starling vocal repertoires develop and how nestling begging behaviour is influenced by brood number, weather, and environmental noise. I am collaborating on this project with Colleen Barber who has been studying a banded population of European Starlings on the St. Mary's campus for nearly a decade
Song Sparrows
My MSc work with Colleen Barber involved vocal behaivour of Song Sparrows. First, we studied song sharing among Eastern Song Sparrows in Nova Scotia. We found that song sparrows in this Eastern population share whole songs often, in stark contrast to other Eastern populations. We also examined how song sparrow daytime singing rates varied with nesting stage. We found that Song Sparrows sing at higher rates during incubation than during other nesting stages.