B.S., Cornell University, 1953
M.S., University of Kansas, 1956
Ph.D., University of Florida, 1960

Research Interests

Ornithology, Avian Behaviorial Ecology

In 1969 I established a long-term, longitudinal study of the ecology and behavior of the Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) at the Archbold Biological Station. About 100 jay families reside on the 5000-acre field station. Half the families occupy the demography tract, where no significant manipulations are permitted; these birds and their descendants have been individually color-marked for 28 years. The other approximately 50 families occupy the experimental tract; these birds have been marked for about 10 years. Since 1969, with participation by numerous graduate students and several colleagues from other institutions, we have learned much about the demography and social structure of this Florida endemic, especially regarding its cooperative breeding behavior, habitat requirements and foraging ecology. Part way through the study the Florida scrub-jay was officially listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as Threatened. Thereafter, considerable effort has been extended toward studying scrub jays throughout their Florida range, with emphasis on habitat and conservation.

An infinite number of thesis and dissertation projects remain to be isolated with the Florida Scrub Jay as the focal organism. Students are expected to identify their own projects.

Selected Recent Publications

Woolfenden, G. E. and J.W. Fitzpatrick. 1996. Florida Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens). In Poole, A. and F. Gill eds. The Birds of North America, No. 228. Acad. Sci., Philadelphia and Amer. Ornithol. Union, Wash. D.C., 28 pp.

McDonald, D.B., J.W. Fitzpatrick, and G.E. Woolfenden. 1996. Actuarial senescence and demographic heterogeneity in the Florida scrub jay. Ecology 77: 2373-2381.

Marzluff, J.M., G. E. Woolfenden, J.W. Fitzpatrick, and R.P. Balda. 1996. Breeding partnerships of two New World jays. Pp. 138-161 in Black, J.M. ed. Partnerships in birds. Oxford Univ. Press.

Stith B.M., J.W. Fitzpatrick, G.E. Woolfenden, and B. Pranty. 1996. Classification of metapopulations: a case study of the Florida scrub jay. In McCullough D.R. ed. Metapopulations and wildlife conservation. Island Press, Washington D.C.

Bowman, R. and G.E. Woolfenden. 1997. Nesting chronology of the Common Ground-Dove in Florida and Texas. J. Field Ornithol. 68: 580-589.

Fleck, D.C. and G.E. Woolfenden. 1997. Can acorn tannin predict scrub-jay caching behavior. J. Chem. Biol. 23: 793-806.

Tarvin, K.A. and G.E. Woolfenden. 1997. Patterns of dominance and aggressive behavior in Blue Jays at a feeder. Condor 99:434-444.

Grubb, T.C., Jr., G.E. Woolfenden, and J.W. Fitzpatrick. 1998. Factors affecting nutritional condition of fledgling Florida Scrub-Jays: a ptilochronology approach. Condor 100: 753-756.