Behavioral Ecology (Integrative Animal Behavior)

Core Faculty Research Themes

Alphabetical listing of all faculty

Behavioral Ecology (Integrative Animal Behavior) is the study of the evolutionary basis for animal behavior due to ecological pressures.

Name	Title	Dept	Interest
Behmer, Spencer	Professor	Entomology	Insect physiology and behavior, including their ecological and evolutionary bases
Brightsmith, Donald	Associate Professor	Veterinary Pathobiology	Ecology and conservation of macaws and parrots
Foroughirad, Vivienne	Assistant Professor	Marine Biology	Behavioral ecology and genetics of cetaceans
Grace, Jacqueline	Assistant Professor	Ecology & Conservation Biology	Ecophysiology and behavior of birds
Gursky, Sharon	Professor	Anthropology	Behavioral ecology and conservation of non-human primates
Helms, Anjel	Assistant Professor	Entomology	Chemical ecology, tritrophic and plant-herbivore interactions
Merlin, Christine	Assistant Professor	Biology	Circadian biology
Moran, Rachel	Assistant Professor	Biology	Behavior, adaptation, diversification in fish species
Rangel, Juliana	Associate Professor	Entomology	Population, disease and reproductive biology of honey bees
Rodrigues, Antonio M.M.	Assistant Professor	Ecology & Conservation Biology	Social evolution and altruism, demography and life history evolution, multilevel selection and intergroup cooperation, host-symbiont interactions, behavioral ecology and conservation
Smotherman, Michael	Professor	Biology	Physiology and evolution of vocal motor pathway in mammals
Song, Hojun	Associate Professor	Entomology	Insect systematics; phylogenetics of orthopteran insects; phenotypic plasticity; character evolution
Sword, Gregory	Professor	Entomology	Insect, plant & microbial ecology
Tomberlin, Jeffery	Professor	Entomology	Ecology and biology of flies associated with decomposing matter
Vargo, Ed	Professor and Endowed Chair	Entomology	Urban and structural entomology
Wicksten, Mary	Professor	Biology	Behavior, classification and ecology of decapod Crustacea, plus adaptive coloration in marine organisms
Yorzinski, Jessica	Associate Professor	Ecology & Conservation Biology	Animal behavior, sensory ecology, animal communication, conservation

Behavioral Ecology (Integrative Animal Behavior)
– the study of the evolutionary basis for animal behavior due to ecological pressures

Community Ecology
– the study of how populations of species organize and interact with each other and the environment

Conservation Biology/Restoration Ecology
– the study of biodiversity and how to sustainably protect, manage, and restore degraded habitats

Ecosystems/Landscape Ecology
– the study of the dynamics of ecological processes through time across a variety of spatial scales

Evolutionary Ecology
– the study of interactions between organisms and their environments from an evolutionary perspective

Evolutionary Genomics
– the study of genome evolution

Phylogenetics & Comparative Biology
– the study of evolutionary relationships among organisms, and the mechanisms and patterns that drive the evolution of those relationships

Physiological Ecology
– the study of relationships between the physiology of organisms and their adaptation to environmental conditions

Population & Quantitative Genetics
– the study of genetic differences within and between populations and assessment of variability of continuous phenotypes

Population Ecology
– the study of population dynamics over space and time and how populations interact with the environment