Research Symposium

BIO

Greetings and humble salutations, my name is Daejah Brown and I am a sophomore studying Biology at the one and only, Florida State University. My interests are volunteering in my community, attending organization meetings and social events, learning new things, and playing volleyball. My favorite thing to do is interact with nature, whether it's going on hikes or as simple as watering my plants. Participating in different research is a way for me to fuel my desire to learn different things. I hope that you are intrigued by the lance-tailed manakins' research findings and conclusions.

Olfactory displays: Manipulation of scent cues by male lance-tailed manakins (Chiroxiphia lanceolata)

Abstract

Have you ever stopped to look at a bird, and wondered what influences their movement or behavior? There is usually always a reason to explain different types of bird behavior and occurrence. In this study, male lance-tailed manakins (Chiroxiphia lanceolata) were studied and analyzed to form a conclusion as to what factors affect the occurrence of bill swipes on a dancing perch. A bill swipe occurs when a bird wipes their bill on the dancing perch. Does experimental manipulation of olfactory, or scent, cues change the manakin behavior of bill swipes? This hypothesis was tested by manipulating scent cues at male display perches by wiping them with ethanol or with a dry cloth (control treatment). Data was collected on the number of bill swipes. Comparing the experimental treatment with the control treatment will determine if the male lance-tailed manakins are bill swiping more to change the scent cues on the dance perch once manipulated. The preliminary findings should favor the reasoning that male lance-tailed manakins perform more bill swipes once the dancing perch is wiped off with ethanol because they are trying to add back their scent cues to attract female lance-tailed manakins.

Keywords: lance-tailed manakins, Chiroxiphia lanceolata, bill swipe, scent cues, bird behavior