Overview
The Avian Ecology Program at Archbold Biological Station conducts basic and applied research on the behavioral ecology and population dynamics of threatened birds through ecologically and evolutionarily meaningful time spans and across the varied landscapes, including those altered by humans, of upland habitats in central Florida. Our research is primarily focused in the following areas:
- Avian population biology, demography and population regulation
- Evolution of cooperative breeding
- Behavioral ecology
- Urban ecology
- Landscape ecology
- Endangered species management and conservation
We also have strong collaborative projects on:
- Eco-immunology (w/ Raoul K. Boughton, Archbold Biological Station, Morris Animal Foundation Fellow)
- Disease ecology and regulation of FSJ populations (w/ Raoul K. Boughton, and John. W. Fitzpatrick, Andy Clark and Nancy Chen, Cornell University)
- Endocrine basis of avian behavior (w/ Stephen J. Schoech, University of Memphis)
- Population and conservation genetics (w/ John W. Fitzpatrick and Irby Lovette, Cornell University and Dr. Aurélie Coulon, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle)
Our diverse avenues of research integrate our interests in the processes that drive annual patterns of demographic variation and ultimately the factors that regulate populations over evolutionary time. We emphasis long-term research and use a combination of longitudinal observational studies and natural and controlled experiments to test hypotheses.
Consistent with Archbold Biological Station’s mission of research informing both conservation and education, we work with many public (federal and state agencies) and private (NGOs, professional societies, etc) to identify conservation priorities and to effectively channel our research results into successful solutions. We engage students, both interns and graduate students, in our research and in the application of their own research results to the conservation of natural resources.
Our interns are enormously important to our ability to collect long-term demographic data. We provide them with a broad array of experiences, but most importantly, the opportunity to conduct independent research. Working with program staff, interns identify their own areas of interest, formulate research questions and design experiments or series of observations to answer those questions. As will be expected of them in graduate school, they must prepare written proposals that simulate grant applications and present their final results in both oral and written forms. Interns also are engaged in regular lab meetings, paper review sessions, and seminars.
