Concurrent invasions by European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) suggest selection on shared genomic regions even after genetic bottlenecks

A species' success during the invasion of new areas hinges on an interplay between demographic processes and the outcome of localized selection. Invasive European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) established populations in Australia and North America in the 19th century. Here, we compare whole-genome sequences among native and independently introduced European Starling populations from three continents to determine how demographic processes interact with rapid adaptive evolution to generate similar genetic patterns in these recent and replicated invasions. Our results confirm that a post-bottleneck expansion may in fact support local adaptation. We find that specific genomic regions have differentiated even on this short evolutionary timescale, and suggest that selection best explains differentiation in at least two of these regions. This infamous and highly mobile invader adapted to novel selection (e.g., extrinsic factors), perhaps in part due to the demographic boom intrinsic to many invasions.

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Song Learning After Isolation in the Open-Ended Learner the European Starling: Dissociation of Imitation and Syntactic Development

The Condor ◽

10.1093/condor/109.4.968 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 109 (4) ◽

pp. 968-976

Author(s):

Martha Leah Chaiken ◽

JÖRG BÖHNER

Keyword(s):

Adult Male ◽

Sturnus Vulgaris ◽

European Starling ◽

Song Learning ◽

First Year ◽

European Starlings ◽

Wild Male ◽

Syntactic Development

Abstract We performed two studies to test whether the ability of open-ended learners to acquire new songs as adults depends on their having learned normal songs as juveniles. European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) were kept in isolation for their first year. In the first study the birds were housed in a group with a wild-caught adult male following isolation. The subjects imitated each other but not the wild male and failed to develop normal phonology or syntax. In the second study each yearling was housed individually with a wild-caught adult male following isolation. These subjects developed good phonology and syntax but copied few or no song motifs from the wild adults. Taken together, the two studies indicate that starlings are capable of imitating new motifs and of acquiring species-typical phonology and syntax after a year of isolation. The contrasting results of the two studies suggest that imitation and the development of syntax are independent processes subject to different influences.

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METABOLISM OF TESTOSTERONE IN THE ANTERIOR PITUITARY GLAND AND THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM OF THE EUROPEAN STARLING (STURNUS VULGARIS)

Journal of Endocrinology ◽

10.1677/joe.0.0750347 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 75 (3) ◽

pp. 347-354 ◽

Cited By ~ 68

Author(s):

R. MASSA ◽

L. CRESTI ◽

L. MARTINI

Keyword(s):

Central Nervous System ◽

Pituitary Gland ◽

Anterior Pituitary ◽

Sturnus Vulgaris ◽

European Starling ◽

European Starlings ◽

The Central Nervous System ◽

The Brain

The metabolism of testosterone was studied in vitro in anterior pituitary, hypothalamic and hyperstriatal tissues taken from male European starlings in the autumn. In all the tissues studied, testosterone was converted into 5α-androstan-17β-ol-3-one (5α-DHT), 5β-androstan-17β-ol-3-one (5β-DHT), 5β-androstane-3α,17β-diol (5β-THT), 5β-androstane-3,-17-dione and androst-4-ene-3,17-dione. The 5α-DHT was produced in significantly greater amounts by the pituitary gland than by the hypothalamus and hyperstriatum. The amount of 5α-DHT produced, however, was very low in comparison with the amounts of 5β-reduced metabolites. The amount of 5β-reductase was also higher in the pituitary gland than in the two nervous tissues. The ratios between the production of 5β-DHT, 5β-THT and 5β-androstane-3,17-dione were, however, different in the three tissues: 5β-DHT was produced in the greatest quantities by the hyperstriatum, while the production of 5β-THT, 5β-androstane-3,17-dione and androst-4-ene-3,17-dione was greatest in pituitary tissue. The role of 5α- and 5β-reduced metabolites in the pituitary gland and in the brain of birds is unknown, but some possibilities arising from the present results are discussed.

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Function of the Song and Song Repertoire in the European Starling (Sturnus Vulgaris) : an Aviary Experiment

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/156853993x00182 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 125 (1-2) ◽

pp. 51-66 ◽

Cited By ~ 79

Author(s):

Marcel Eens ◽

Rianne Pinxten ◽

Rudolf Frans Verheyen

Keyword(s):

Sturnus Vulgaris ◽

European Starling ◽

Close Encounter ◽

Nest Material ◽

European Starlings ◽

Song Repertoire ◽

Behavioural Responses ◽

Male Stimulus ◽

New Information ◽

Song Types

AbstractWe confronted individually-caged male European starlings, Sturnus vulgaris, with conspecifics of both sexes in order to study singing behaviour during intrasexual and intersexual encounters. Males spent more time at the nestbox, sang more songs and more song types during female presentations than during control periods (observation periods with no conspecifics). Males also sang more songs in the nestbox and flew more to the nestbox with green nest material. During male presentations, only the time spent at the nestbox and the carrying of nest material increased significantly. Males spent more time at the nestbox, sang more songs and more song types in response to a female stimulus than to a male stimulus. Males also sang more songs in the nestbox and flew more to the nestbox with nest material during female than during male presentations. These results suggest that the song and song repertoire of male starlings serve primarily an intersexual rather than an intrasexual function. However, in contrast to a previous study, our results suggest that singing also serves as an intrasexual signal to deter rivals at close encounter. We also tested the hypothesis that the 'whistles' and the 'warbling song' have separate intrasexual and intersexual functions, as has been suggested in the literature. We found no evidence for a specialized intrasexual function of the whistles nor for a specialized intersexual function of the warbling song. From this study it also appears that variations in the size of the aviary can modify the behavioural responses of starling males. New information with regard to the use of green nest material by male starlings is given.

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