Undergrad opportunity: Learn to code course

I will be teaching my “Analytical Tools for Behavior” course (BIOL3017) in Fall 2024. This is a beginner-friendly learn-to-code course based around animal behavior concepts and using data from penguins. 

There is increasing awareness that data science and computational thinking are critical skills for undergraduates to develop.… [Read full details]

Undergrad opportunity: Animal care

We are recruiting student volunteers or work/study students to help us provide daily care to our Bobwhite quail in the lab.

  • Students should be able to commit to a minimum of 3 hours of work per week.
  • Duties will include changing food and water, providing health checks, and potentially assisting in social experiments.
[Read full details]

Undergrad opportunity: Video scoring

We are recruiting student volunteers or work/study students to help with data collection in the lab.

Work with PhD student Sanjay Prasher to assist in his research on bobwhite quail sociality. Sanjay recorded hours of video of quail moving around and interacting with each other in a flight pen.… [Read full details]

New paper!! Inferred Attractiveness

Inferred Attractiveness: A generalized mechanism for sexual selection that can maintain variation in traits and preferences over time

Emily H. DuVal, Courtney L. Fitzpatrick, Elizabeth A. Hobson, Maria R. Servedio

PLOS Biology: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002269

Abstract:

Sexual selection by mate choice is a powerful force that can lead to evolutionary change, and models of why females choose particular mates are central to understanding its effects.… [Read full details]

New paper! Identity information in parakeet calls

Grace has a new paper now out in PLOS Computational Biology!

Individual identity information persists in learned calls of introduced parrot populations

Grace Smith-Vidaurre , Valeria Pérez-Marrufo, Elizabeth A. Hobson, Alejandro Salinas-Melgoza, Timothy F. Wright

Abstract

Animals can actively encode different types of identity information in learned communication signals, such as group membership or individual identity.… [Read full details]

New paper! Biology graduate students quantitative confidence

Challenges and opportunities to build quantitative self-confidence in biologists 

Kim Cuddington, Karen C Abbott, Frederick R Adler, Mehmet Aydeniz, Rene Dale, Louis J Gross, Alan Hastings, Elizabeth A Hobson, Vadim A Karatayev, Alexander Killion, Aasakiran Madamanchi, Michelle L Marraffini, Audrey L McCombs, Widodo Samyono, Shin-Han Shiu, Karen H Watanabe, Easton R White

Link to journal

This paper came out of a NIMBioS workshop called “Quantitative Education in Life Science Graduate Programs

Abstract

New graduate students in biology programs may lack the quantitative skills necessary for their research and professional careers.… [Read full details]

Press release! Importance of parakeet social history

 

Mike Miller did a great press release for our recent paper on rank dynamics and social history in monk parakeets. Thanks Mike!


 

These birds vacation at their peril

Gregarious monk parakeets lose social standing during an absence

 

Stephen Hawking famously said showing up is half the battle.

[Read full details]