GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION IN CONTACT CALLS OF FERAL NORTH AMERICAN POPULATIONS OF THE MONK PARAKEET

Abstract Introduced feral populations offer a unique opportunity to study the effects of social interaction and founder effects on the development of geographic variation in learned vocalizations. Introduced populations of Monk Parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) have been growing in number since the 1970s, with a mixture of isolated and potentially interacting populations. We surveyed diversity in contact calls of Monk Parakeet populations in Connecticut, Texas, Florida, and Louisiana. Contact call structure differed significantly among the isolated populations in each state. Contact call structure also differed significantly among potentially interacting nest colonies in coastal Connecticut, and these differences did not follow a geographic gradient. Limited dispersal distances, founder effects, and social learning preferences may play a role in call structure differences.