Carolina chickadees are small, boisterous year-round residents of the southeastern United States. They are regularly found with much larger tufted titmice, white-breasted nuthatches and various woodpecker species.
In these mixed flocks, chickadees are almost always the subordinate individuals, outcompeted by their larger flockmates. Why then do chickadees regularly join these flocks? Might they have a symbiotic relationship with other species in these flocks?
Todd Freeberg, a professor of psychology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, studies animal behavior and is especially interested in testing how diverse groups of animals sometimes outperform uniform groups made up of a single species. Read the full article on The Conversation.
UT is a member of The Conversation, an independent source for news articles and informed analysis written by the academic community and edited by journalists for the general public. Through our partnership, we seek to provide a better understanding of the important work of our faculty.
—
CONTACT:
Lindsey Owen McBee (865-974-6375, lowen8@utk.edu)