Biology ETDs

Publication Date

5-22-1973

Abstract

Aggression in House Finches and House Sparrows was studied at an outdoor feeder in winter and in indoor cages. In the wild, frequencies of encounters conformed to patterns of daily and seasonal feeding activity. House Sparrows of both sexes were dominant to House Finches, especially in cages. House Finches were more aggressive intra- than interspecifically. House Sparrows showed equal proportions of aggression toward finches and each other. House Finches maintained stable peck-right dominance hierarchies. House Sparrows exhibited extreme lability in dominance relationships, with no emergent structure. Interspecific aggression in these species was related to violations of individual distance at common resources and to a behavioral adaptation of House Sparrows for usurping nests of other species.

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Biology

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

UNM Biology Department

First Committee Member (Chair)

J. David Ligon

Second Committee Member

Michael L. Rosenzweig

Third Committee Member

James Roman Gosz

Fourth Committee Member

John Paul Gluck Jr.

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