Electrically Elicited Vocalization From the Brain of the House Finch (Carpodacus Mexicanus)

Behaviour ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 60 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 75-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Epro
Keyword(s):  
Local Anesthetic ◽  
Carpodacus Mexicanus ◽  
House Finch ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
House Finches ◽  
Call Type ◽  
Anatomical Localization ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
The Brain

AbstractVocalizations were electrically elicited from the brains of thirty-eight male and female house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) using acute procedures and local anesthetic. Nine types of call notes were produced including notes which sounded like song elements, but complete normal song was never evoked. Vocalizations could be electrically elicited from all parts of the brain except the cerebellum, but the widest variety of calls and the points yielding vocalizations at the lowest threshold were located in the midbrain around the nucleus mesencephalicus lateralis pars dorsalis. Precise anatomical localization of call type was not found and all calls were elicited from both males and females.

scholarly journals Dynamics of Conjunctivitis and Mycoplasma Gallisepticum Infections in House Finches

The Auk ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry K. Hartup ◽  
Jean M. Bickal ◽  
Andre A. Dhondt ◽  
David H. Ley ◽  
George V. Kollias
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Annual Variation ◽  
Seasonal Fluctuation ◽  
Host Density ◽  
Mycoplasma Gallisepticum ◽  
Disease Prevalence ◽  
Significant Decline ◽  
Carpodacus Mexicanus ◽  
House Finch ◽  
House Finches

Abstract Conjunctivitis, an infectious disease caused by Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG), has produced a significant decline in eastern House Finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) of North America. In this paper, we present findings from two complementary studies designed to clarify annual and seasonal trends of MG infections in House Finches from the northeastern United States. The first was a field study of House Finches common to urban and residential habitat from Mercer County, New Jersey. We documented conjunctivitis in 11% (188/1,651) of the birds examined. Conjunctivitis prevalence in House Finches ranged from 0 to 43% per month, and exhibited marked seasonal fluctuation (elevations during fall and winter months and lower disease prevalence during the breeding season). There was excellent intermethod agreement on disease prevalence when measured by either presence of physical signs (conjunctivitis) or MG infection (kappa = 0.75). During the peak of the breeding season (April through June), conjunctivitis was present in a greater proportion of males lacking a cloacal protuberance than males with a cloacal protuberance (P < 0.01), but was similar between breeding and nonbreeding females. The second study, a volunteer survey, revealed the proportion of northeastern U.S. monitoring sites with at least one diseased House Finch each month ranged from a peak of 59% (August 1995) to a minimum of 12% (July 1999). Subsequent to the epidemic peak of disease in 1995, a series of recurring cycles occurred, with elevations in those proportions noted in late fall and winter and minima during the breeding season. Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis now appears endemic among House Finches of that region and demonstrates dynamics consistent with annual variation in host density.

scholarly journals Leptin pharmacokinetics in male mice

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A Hart ◽  
Robin C Dobos ◽  
Linda L Agnew ◽  
Neil A Smart ◽  
James R McFarlane
Keyword(s):  
Digestive Tract ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Normal Male ◽  
Male Mice ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Female Mice ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
High Degree ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Major Target

Pharmacokinetics of leptin in mammals has not been studied in detail and only one study has examined more than one time point in non-mutant mice and this was in a female mice. This is the first study to describe leptin distribution over a detailed time course in normal male mice. A physiologic dose (12 ng) of radiolabelled leptin was injected into adult male mice via the lateral tail vein and tissues were dissected out and measured for radioactivity over a time course of up to two hours. Major targets were the digestive tract, kidneys, skin and lungs. The brain was not a major target, and 0.15% of the total dose was recovered from the brain 5 min after administration. Major differences appear to exist in the distribution of leptin between the male and female mice, indicating a high degree of sexual dimorphism. Although the half-lives were similar between male and female mice, almost twice the proportion of leptin was recovered from the digestive tract of male mice in comparison to that reported previously for females. This would seem to indicate a major difference in leptin distribution and possibly function between males and females.

Age, sex, and season affect the risk of mycoplasmal conjunctivitis in a southeastern house finch population

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (5) ◽  
pp. 755-763 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Altizer ◽  
Andrew K Davis ◽  
Katherine C Cook ◽  
John J Cherry
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
Host Susceptibility ◽  
Eye Disease ◽  
Carpodacus Mexicanus ◽  
House Finch ◽  
House Finches ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
High Prevalence ◽  
Severe Infections

House finches (Carpodacus mexicanus (Muller, 1776)) in eastern North America have been affected by annual epidemics of an eye disease caused by the bacterium Mycoplasma gallisepticum since 1994. To identify factors associated with seasonal changes in prevalence and variation in host susceptibility, we monitored mycoplasmal conjunctivitis among wild house finches in a region of high prevalence in southeastern North America. We captured 888 birds between August 2001 and December 2003 and observed seasonal outbreaks characterized by rapid increases in prevalence from August to October each year. During periods of high prevalence, infection probability was significantly higher among juveniles than adults, and the severity of conjunctivitis among juvenile females was greater than for any other host category. We found no evidence linking moulting status to elevated infection risk among adult birds. Finally, house finches with conjunctivitis were in poorer condition than birds with no clinical signs of infection, particularly among those with severe infections. Results from this study are consistent with recent reports of seasonal and regional variation in mycoplasmal conjunctivitis and suggest that annual changes in host reproduction, behaviour, and age structure might be important determinants of the timing and magnitude of local epidemics.

Parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds and productivity of House Finch hosts

1998 ◽  
Vol 76 (9) ◽  
pp. 1714-1721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R Kozlovic
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Reproductive Output ◽  
Molothrus Ater ◽  
Carpodacus Mexicanus ◽  
House Finch ◽  
House Finches ◽  
Cowbird Parasitism ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Egg Removal ◽  
Established Population

The effect of parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) on the reproductive success of a recently established population of House Finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) was studied at St. Catharines, Ontario, during 1983-1985. House Finches began to colonize Ontario in 1972 and breeding was first observed there in 1978. Cowbirds laid in 40.2% of House Finch nests and parasitism was most prevalent during the peak of House Finch nesting. Clutches initiated early in the season were free of cowbird eggs. Most (76%) House Finch nests were parasitized within 2 days after the first House Finch egg was laid. Parasitized House Finch nests contained 1-3 cowbird eggs and the mean number of cowbird eggs per parasitized nest was 1.30. Frequency of multiple parasitism was 24.2% and the number of cowbird eggs per nest was not significantly different from a truncated Poisson distribution. Cowbird parasitism depressed House Finch clutch size and number of hatchlings and fledglings, but the proportion of surviving eggs in parasitized nests that yielded hatchlings and fledglings was not influenced by parasitism. Overall growth of House Finch nestlings did not differ significantly between parasitized and unparasitized nests. Thus, House Finches were able to successfully rear most of their young irrespective of parasitism. The decrease in reproductive output of House Finches was mainly due to egg removal by cowbirds, which effectively reduced the clutch size of parasitized nests by about 1 House Finch egg.

Distribution of orexin/hypocretin immunoreactivity in the brain of a male songbird, the house finch, Carpodacus mexicanus

2006 ◽  
Vol 32 (2-4) ◽  
pp. 81-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristan G. Singletary ◽  
Pierre Deviche ◽  
Christine Strand ◽  
Yvon Delville
Keyword(s):  
Carpodacus Mexicanus ◽  
House Finch ◽  
The Brain

Distribution of orexin/hypocretin immunoreactivity in the brain of a male songbird, the house finch, Carpodacus mexicanus

2007 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristan G. Singletary ◽  
Pierre Deviche ◽  
Christine Strand ◽  
Yvon Delville
Keyword(s):  
Carpodacus Mexicanus ◽  
House Finch ◽  
The Brain

Nest mites (Pellonyssus reedi) and the reproductive biology of the house finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)

2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (12) ◽  
pp. 2126-2133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew M Stoehr ◽  
Paul M Nolan ◽  
Geoffrey E Hill ◽  
Kevin J McGraw
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Biology ◽  
Carpodacus Mexicanus ◽  
House Finch ◽  
East Central ◽  
House Finches ◽  
Male Plumage ◽  
Initial Appearance ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Mite Infestations ◽  
Male House

We investigated the effects of a hematophagous nestling mite (Pellonyssus reedi, Acari: Macronyssidae) on the reproductive biology of the house finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) in east-central Alabama, U.S.A. Mites were absent from nests for the first half of the breeding season, but after their initial appearance they increased in number and were present in almost all nests. High nest-mite levels were associated with decreased nestling mass and hematocrit, but not with decreased nestling tarsus length. Experimental elimination of mites from some nests confirmed that the effects observed were mite-induced, not seasonal. The plumage colour of breeding adult male house finches was not correlated with nest-mite levels, nor did it appear that redder males' offspring suffered less from the effects of mites. Adult house finches fed nestlings from highly parasitized nests less often than those from nests with few or no mites. It appears unlikely that mites are directly involved in the sexual selection of bright male plumage coloration in this population of house finches. However, it is known that early-nesting females preferentially pair with redder males, therefore the benefit of nesting early and avoiding mite infestations is greater for redder male house finches.

Food color preferences against a dark, textured background vary in relation to sex and age in house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus)

Behaviour ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 149 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hirbod Behbahaninia ◽  
Kevin J. McGraw ◽  
Michael W. Butler ◽  
Matthew B. Toomey
Keyword(s):  
Color Preference ◽  
Carpodacus Mexicanus ◽  
Seed Color ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Natural Conditions ◽  
Color Preferences ◽  
House Finches ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Male Plumage ◽  
Males And Females

AbstractMany animals consume colorful foods, because bright coloration either enhances conspicuousness of food items or signals nutritional rewards. A comparatively under-studied aspect of food color preferences is the role of the background environment in shaping food detectability and choices. Previous work with house finches ( Carpodacus mexicanus), for example, showed that individuals preferred red and green food items and avoided yellow ones. However, this study of desert, ground-feeding birds was done with seeds presented against an artificial white background that is unlikely to reflect natural conditions. Therefore, we performed a similar experiment, but quantified selection of colorful foods using a different visual environment that better mimicked natural conditions. We mixed dark, inedible distractor pellets (i.e., analogous to natural desert sand and rocks) with sunflower kernels that were colored red, green, yellow, or orange to test for differences in foraging patterns by sex, age, and expression of male plumage coloration in non-molting house finches. This food presentation resulted in yellow seeds having a significantly greater chromatic, but not achromatic, contrast with the background than red or green seeds. Under these conditions, all birds consumed yellow, and to a lesser extent red, seeds most often, and both adult males and females had a strong preference for yellow kernels; adult males also tended to prefer green kernels, but females tended not to prefer green kernels. Juveniles showed no significant preferences for any seed color, and adult male plumage coloration was not related to seed color preference. Therefore, in contrast to studies using different foraging environments, house finches tended to prefer yellow seeds, supporting models that suggest that visual background and contrast may be more important than color per se in visually mediated foraging decisions of birds. Moreover, the fact that adult males and females differed in food color preference has not been reported previously in songbirds.

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