Publications [#229890] of Stephen Nowicki

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Papers Published

  1. Nowicki, S; Westneat, M; Hoese, W, Birdsong: motor function and the evolution of communication, Seminars in Neuroscience, vol. 4 no. 6 (January, 1992), pp. 385-390, Elsevier BV [doi] .
    (last updated on 2024/08/25)

    Abstract:
    Communication differs from other behaviors in the potential for an arbitrary relationship between a signal's function and the motor patterns used to produce it. Also, signals often incorporate motor patterns that have been co-opted from non-signal behaviors, resulting in a linkage between communication and other behaviors using the same functional systems. We examine possible evolutionary consequences of these attributes of communication, using birdsong as a focus. Syringeal function provides a case where co-adaptation with other behaviors is weak. By contrast, functional systems of the vocal tract have evolved in response to competing influences of divergent selective pressures. © 1992.