Research
Overview
Animals live in rapidly changing and unpredictable
environments. The ability to respond appropriately to unpredictable
changes is critical for survival and reproduction. My research
focuses on the behavioral and physiological changes that
occur in response to unpredictable events (stressors), the
hormonal and cellular mechanisms that underlie these changes,
and the ecological repercussions of these changes for animals
in their natural environment. I focus my studies on the adrenocortical
response to stress, and the behavioral and cellular actions
of glucocorticoids in three species of birds, the white-crowned
sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys), the white-throated sparrow
(Zonotrichia albicollis), and the house sparrow (Passer domesticus).
Current Projects
- Physiological ecology of the stress response in free-living
sparrows
- Regulation of stress reactivity within
an ecological context
- Stress and aggression in agonistic
encounters
- Ontogeny of the stress response
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