|
|
|
|
|
Timothy F. Wright Department of Biology Lab webpage: http://biology-web.nmsu.edu/twright/lab Ph.D.: University of California San Diego Post-doctoral work: University of Maryland, Smithsonian
Institution |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Research Program: Communication and Evolution in Parrots My research focuses on the function and evolution
of vocal communication in parrots. Across the animal kingdom, the ability to
learn vocal signals is restricted to a few evolutionarily distinct groups
(songbirds, hummingbirds and parrots among birds; humans, bats and whales
among mammals). Parrots are renowned for their vocal mimicry abilities in
captivity, but less is known about how learning is used in the wild. Thus
they present opportunities for understanding how learning shapes
communication behavior, how the use of learned vocalizations differs between
species, and why this ability evolved in the first place. These core
interests have expanded through the years to a variety of related questions
regarding the systematics of parrots, the evolution of their impressive
longevity, and how best to conserve endangered parrot species that I approach
collaboratively with other researchers and organizations. We tackle these questions through a broad
range of approaches including field observations, sound analysis, telemetry,
captive studies, playback experiments, psychoacoustics and molecular
population genetics and phylogenetics. Students in my lab make use of
these techniques or invent new ones as appropriate to investigate their own
questions in behavior and evolution. See my lab
webpage for a complete list of publications and more information
on people and research:
A
pair of duetting yellow-naped amazons (Amazona auropalliata) with a laughing
falcon (Herpetotheres cachinnans) in the foreground Hear
a typical duet from the Northern dialect in Costa Rica [.aif
file] Courses Taught: BIOL
322, Zoology: Syllabus
Fall 2006; Course
Evaluations Fall 2006 BIOL
439, Animal Behavior: Syllabus
Spring 2008; Course
Evaluations Spring 2006 BIOL
550 Seminar on Developmental Plasticity and Evolution: Syllabus
Spring 2007 BIOL
584, Animal Communication: Syllabus
Spring 2007; Course
Evaluations Spring 2007 BIOL
587, Behavioral Ecology: Syllabus
Fall 2007; Course
Evaluations Fall 2005
BIOL 587 Field Trip, Dripping
Springs NM, March 2007 |
|
|
Parrot
Conservation: Interview on NPR's All
Things Considered,
2001 discussing nest poaching of Neotropical parrots for the pet trade [.wav file]
PhD student Christine Dahlin, her field assistants and school kids of Irigaray, Guanacaste in front of a mural designed by Chris as part of an integrated parrot conservation program (March, 2007) |
|
|
Representative Publications (with links to PDF files) Wright, T.F., E.E.
Schirtzinger, T. Matsumoto, J.R. Eberhard, G. Graves, J.J. Sanchez, S. Capelli, H. Müller, J. Scharpegge , G.K. Chambers and
R.C. Fleischer. 2008. A multi-locus molecular phylogeny of the parrots
(Psittaciformes): Support for a Gondwanan origin during the Cretaceous. Molecular Biology and
Evolution. in
press. [Preprint],
[Suppl.
Table 1], [Suppl.
Figures 1 & 2] Russello, M.A., M.L.
Avery, & T.F. Wright. 2008. Genetic evidence links invasive monk parakeet
populations in the United States to the international pet trade. BMC
Evolutionary Biology, 8:217. [PDF] Wright, T.F., C.R. Dahlin, A.
Salinas-Melgoza. 2008. Stability and change in vocal dialects of the
yellow-naped amazon. Animal Behaviour. 76:1017-1027. [PDF] Wright, T.F. & C.R. Dahlin. 2007. Pair duets in the yellow-naped
amazon (Amazona auropalliata): phonology and syntax. Behaviour 144:207-228. [PDF] Wright, T.F. A. Rodriguez & R.C.
Fleischer. 2005. Vocal dialects, sex-biased dispersal and microsatellite
population structure in the parrot Amazona auropalliata. Molecular Ecology 14: 1197-1205. [PDF] Wright, T.F., K.A. Cortopassi, J.W.
Bradbury & R. J. Dooling.
2003. Hearing and vocalizations in the orange-fronted conure, Aratinga
canicularis.
Journal of Comparative Psychology.117:87-95. [PDF] Wright, T.F. & G.S. Wilkinson.
2001. Population genetic structure and vocal dialects in an amazon parrot. Proceedings
of the Royal Society of London B. 268:609-616. [PDF] Eberhard*, J. R., T.F. Wright* & E.
Bermingham. 2001. Duplication and concerted evolution of the mitochondrial
control region in the parrot genus Amazona. Molecular Biology
and Evolution.
18:1330-1342.
[PDF] *co-first authors Wright, T.F., C.A. Toft , E.
Enkerlin-Hoeflich, J. Gonzalez-Elizondo, M. Albornoz, A. Rodriguez-Ferraro,
F. Rojas-Suarez, V. Sanz, A. Trujillo, S.R. Beissinger, V. Berovides A., X.
Galvez A., A.T. Brice, K. Joyner, J.R. Eberhard, J. Gilardi, S.E. Koenig, S.
Stoleson, P. Martuscelli, J.M. Meyers, K. Renton, A. M. Rodriguez, A C.
Sosa-Asanza, F.J. Vilella, & J.W. Wiley. 2001. Nest poaching in Neotropical parrots. Conservation
Biology.
15:710-720. [PDF] Wright, T.F. 1996.
Regional dialects in the contact call of a parrot. Proceedings of the Royal Society
of London B
263:867-872. [PDF] Research conducted with support from
|
|
|
|
|
A clutch of yellow-naped amazon nestlings
Revised 24 January, 2008
Biology Home | A&S Home | NMSU
Search/Help | NMSU Home | Admissions