2022 | ||
22 Sept | Liz will be giving a seminar talk at McMaster University’s Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, invited by Reuven Dukas | |
27 Sept | Liz will be giving a seminar talk at Texas A&M University’s Biology Department, invited by Courtney Fitzpatrick | |
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.
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
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]
New paper! Parrot mixed-species aggregations
Our new paper, led by Vanessa Ferdinand, was published in the theme issue “Mixed-species groups and aggregations: shaping ecological and behavioural patterns and processes” (compiled and edited by Nora V. Carlson, Todd M. Freeberg, Eben Goodale, and Anne Heloise Theo) in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. … [Read full details]
Grace is starting her lab at Michigan State!!
Grace just signed her offer and will be starting a tenure track faculty job at Michigan State in 2024!!! This is so exciting and I am really looking forward to continuing our collaboration and seeing Grace build her group. She’ll be recruiting soon!… [Read full details]
New paper: importance of parakeet social history
A new paper, led by Hobson Lab postdoc Annemarie van der Marel, was just published!
In this paper, we wanted to test whether social history was an important factor in rank dynamics in captive groups of monk parakeets. My previous results, using computational approaches, suggested that this was the case, but we really wanted to conduct experimental manipulations to test it in action.… [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.