Gammon and Elon alum Gabbi Resh '17 published their research in the journal Behaviour and in a YouTube video.
Dave Gammon, TE Powell Jr professor and professor of biology, recently presented vocal mimicry research coauthored with Elon alum, Gabi Resh ’17 at the annual meetings of the American Ornithological Society
Mockingbirds and other vocal mimics are famous for making the sounds of other species, such as cardinals, blue jays, treefrogs, and mourning doves. But when a young mockingbird learns to sing like a cardinal, does he copy an actual cardinal (primary mimicry) or does he copy a mockingbird that already makes cardinal sounds (secondary mimicry)?
Over the last decade, Dave Gammon, TE Powell Jr professor and professor of Biology, has worked with Gabi Resh ’17 and other research students to create and use methods for distinguishing whether mimetic song is primary vs secondary mimicry. Gammon recently presented their research at the annual meetings of the American Ornithological Society.
Gammon and Resh published their research in the journal Behaviour and in a YouTube video.