Fred E. Wasserman
Email: few@bu.edu
Associate Professor of Biology
Ph.D., University of Maryland (1977)
Animal Behavior, Behavioral Ecology, Avian Vocal Communication, Territoriality

Research Interests

I am primarily interested in understanding biological phenomena from an evolutionary perspective. My area of concentration is animal behavior and its interface with ecology. I strive to answer ecological questions about social systems and communication, and my approach is to study animals in the field under natural conditions.

I am currently investigating two questions in behavioral biology, using the white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) as a model. First, what varied roles do bird songs play in the life of a bird and, second, why do some birds have very simple song repertoires while others sing varied and complex songs? In addition to exploring the mate attraction, territory defense, and reproductive functions of song, I am trying to determine if white-throated sparrows use their one song type in ways analogous to species with more than one song in an individual's repertoire.

Selected Publications

• Wasserman, F.E. 1986. Sexual differences in the spatial distributions of foraging in white-throated sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis). The Auk 103:421-23.
• Wasserman, F.E., and J.A. Cigliano. 1991. Song output and stimulation of the female in white-throated sparrows. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 29:55-59.
• Morimoto, D.C. and F.E. Wasserman. 1991. Dispersion patterns and habitat selectivity of three dominant breeding birds in the Southeastern Massachusetts pine barrens. The Auk 108:264-76.
• Schimmel, L. and F.E. Wasserman. 1991. An interspecific comparison of individual and species recognition in the passerines, Turdus migratorius and Cyanocitta cristatta. Behaviour 118:115-26.
• Schimmel, K.L. and F.E. Wasserman. 1994. Individual and species preference in two passerine birds: auditory and visual cues. The Auk 111:634-642.
• Wasserman, F.E., M.J. Hersek, M.A. Frankel, J.A. Cigliano, D.C. Morimoto and J. Moran. 1998. Evolutionary lag in cowbird nestling recognition by ovenbirds. Bird Observer 26: 229-2