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Dr. Erich Jarvis of Duke University is studying hummingbirds and their vocal structures. Hummingbirds are a particularly good model to study because they have the ability to imitate sounds and pass them down through generations. The objective of this project is to determine how the vocal learning behavioral trait and associated brain structures evolved.
We utilize vocalizing-driven gene expression to identify vocal brain structures in vocal learning and vocal non-learning species. To date, we have used this approach in 3 vocal learners - songbirds, parrots, and hummingbirds. We have found that they each contain 7 very similar brain structures. If according to the current dominant hypothesis, vocal learning evolved independently in all 6 vocal learning groups within the past 65 million years, then the striking similarities in brain structures of at least the 3 avian groups suggest that there a strong epigenetic constraints on how vocal learning can evolve. We are now determining if this hypothesis is correct, or if there really was a common ancestor with vocal learning, and other groups lost them through evolution. Thumbnail">
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