Of funding and finches

The zebra finch (Taeniopygiaguttata) is a valuable model organism; however, early stages of zebra finch development have not been extensively studied. The protocol describes how to dissect early embryos for developmental and molecular applications.

We describe a technique to evaluate song preference in zebra finches. Females are placed in a two-chambered cage and song preference is measured by the number of times she triggers the playback of one song by landing on a perch within one chamber, compared with triggering a different song in the second chamber. Perch landings are counted using infrared...

Genetic variations accumulating within populations over generations give rise to biological evolution. Evolutionary changes can result in the formation of novel varieties and entire new species. These changes are responsible for the diverse forms of life inhabiting the planet. The evidence for evolution suggests that all living organisms descended from common ancestors.

This article shows an optimized procedure for imaging of the neural substrates of auditory stimulation in the songbird brain using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). It describes the preparation of the sound stimuli, the positioning of the subject and the acquisition and subsequent analysis of the fMRI...

This article describes a straightforward method to prepare small animal brains for micro-CT imaging, in which lesions can be quantified and electrodes located with high precision in the context of the whole...

Fitness
Widespread variation of phenotypes in natural populations provides the raw material for evolution, which is the change in the inherited traits of populations over successive generations. Natural selection is one of the main mechanisms of evolution and requires variable traits to be heritable and associated with differential survival and/or reproductive success. Phenotypes that correlate with greater success will have more offspring that survive to reproduce in the next generation, and...