Priorities for Future Research

As in other species about which a great deal is known, there is a basis for more sophisticated studies of almost every aspect of the biology of the White-throated Sparrow. The authors hope that research on this species will go forward on a broad front. Basic information is still lacking as pointed out in the text. The apparent differential disappearance of WS females and TS males between fledging and breeding is puzzling. Studies on the breeding ground, mapping territories over wide areas with a variety of habitats together with documentation of pair types would be helpful, as would studies of migrants with sex and morph determined accurately. Remote sensing could augment habitat studies. Further use of stable isotopes would improve our understanding of origins, routes and destinations of migrants. Nest record schemes will increase our knowledge of breeding biology. We still have limited data on life history from the core of the breeding range where the White-throated Sparrow is a major component of boreal forest ecosystems. Because of the combination of plumage markers and polymorphism in behavior and breeding strategies, we believe the White-throated Sparrow will continue to attract investigation of underlying physiological and genetic mechanisms, which will contribute to many areas of evolutionary biology. Current genomic research promises to identify genes responsible for the many interesting traits discussed in this account.