General Research Interests: I am interested in behavioral development in complex social environments. My research explores how social networks shape individual differences in social and communicative behaviors, and the mechanisms underlying them. In groups, individuals continually navigate a diverse range of interactions with many different individuals. Such complexity requires learning a diverse range of social and communicative behaviors to effectively interact and form stable relationships with group members. Differences in early social networks, social experiences, and interactions can shape the development of such behaviors, and have long-lasting implications for success in the group. To investigate this I use an integrative approach that spans across multiple levels: from investigating the stability of group-level social networks, to investigating how early differences in social networks predict reproductive success, to exploring how changes in gene expression in the brain shape vocal learning and integration into groups.
Fig 1. Developmental feedback loop between social organization and the ontogeny of social behavior that maintains the stability and resilience of both group social organization and individual social behavior.
From individual behavior to social organization: Social organization is characterized by its stability. Researchers consistently observe distinct types of social relationships (e.g., pair bonds, friendships, and affiliations) and higher-order social network structures (e.g., subgroups, transitivity, and dominance hierarchies) across time and space. This has led to a search for the behavioral mechanisms that allow the social organization to remain resilience across changing social contexts.
My research investigates how the resilience and stability of social organization reflects differences in how individuals modify their social behavior in response to changing social conditions. Using targeted manipulations of cowbird flocks and detailed behavioral observations, my research has demonstrated that the behavior of individuals shapes the stability and flexibility of the group's social organization. In response to group changes, females maintained stable individual differences in how they interact and who they interact with, whereas males did not. This resulted in stable female sub-groups that persisted despite large-scale fluctuations in flock composition.
These findings demonstrate that the ability to form enduring relationships among females is the bedrock of the group’s social organization. Future research will study how early social networks shape the development of individual responses to group changes, in ways that reconstruct such early social networks (creating resilient social organization) or change them (creating novel patterns of social organization).
My research investigates how the resilience and stability of social organization reflects differences in how individuals modify their social behavior in response to changing social conditions. Using targeted manipulations of cowbird flocks and detailed behavioral observations, my research has demonstrated that the behavior of individuals shapes the stability and flexibility of the group's social organization. In response to group changes, females maintained stable individual differences in how they interact and who they interact with, whereas males did not. This resulted in stable female sub-groups that persisted despite large-scale fluctuations in flock composition.
These findings demonstrate that the ability to form enduring relationships among females is the bedrock of the group’s social organization. Future research will study how early social networks shape the development of individual responses to group changes, in ways that reconstruct such early social networks (creating resilient social organization) or change them (creating novel patterns of social organization).
Fig 2. Sequential progression of a head-down display & female response chatter picture. Juvenile females who participate in more head-down displays during the fall show better courtship skills, such as the use of chatter vocalizations in response to male song displays, during their first breeding season.
The Development of Social and Reproductive Competence: There is great interest in the relationship between early social connections and later behavioral, health, and reproductive outcomes. My research explores how the amount, diversity, stability, and strength of early social interactions influence the development of behavioral strategies used to form and maintain social and reproductive relationships (such as properly reciprocating a partner’s courtship display to sustain a pair bond).
Using detailed behavioral observations, targeted social manipulations, and video monitored smart-nests, I have found that stable individual differences in how cowbirds interact with others predicts later reproductive behavior and output in cowbird flocks. Juvenile female's that frequently use autumn pro-social head-down displays when interacting with others (Fig 2.) show better courtship behavior and stronger pair bonds during their first breeding season. Young males who frequently used head-down displays in autumn were also better at coordinating counter-singing displays with other males, a behavior know to increase female reproductive output. As adults, social interactions during non-breeding periods still predict later reproductive output. Females who are able to sustain enduring connections with familiar individuals across autumn group changes (Fig 3.) lay more eggs during the subsequent breeding season.
Such findings suggest that individual variation in early social connections and interactions is associated with reproductive performance into adulthood. Future research will use cowbirds and budgerigars to actively manipulate juvenile social networks and investigate how coping with unpredictable social networks shapes the development of behaviors necessary to form and sustain stable relationships in an uncertain world.
Using detailed behavioral observations, targeted social manipulations, and video monitored smart-nests, I have found that stable individual differences in how cowbirds interact with others predicts later reproductive behavior and output in cowbird flocks. Juvenile female's that frequently use autumn pro-social head-down displays when interacting with others (Fig 2.) show better courtship behavior and stronger pair bonds during their first breeding season. Young males who frequently used head-down displays in autumn were also better at coordinating counter-singing displays with other males, a behavior know to increase female reproductive output. As adults, social interactions during non-breeding periods still predict later reproductive output. Females who are able to sustain enduring connections with familiar individuals across autumn group changes (Fig 3.) lay more eggs during the subsequent breeding season.
Such findings suggest that individual variation in early social connections and interactions is associated with reproductive performance into adulthood. Future research will use cowbirds and budgerigars to actively manipulate juvenile social networks and investigate how coping with unpredictable social networks shapes the development of behaviors necessary to form and sustain stable relationships in an uncertain world.
Neurogenetic mechanisms of communication and social integration: Social interactions revolve around effective communication. My current research is exploring the relationship between the neural mechanisms underlying vocal communication and the formation of stable relationships in dynamic groups.
In budgerigars, small flocks converge upon communally-shared vocal contact calls that facilitate integration into a group by signaling group membership. Using viral vectors I have up-regulated FoxP2—a critical translational factor shaping neural connectivity—in a brain region essential for vocal learning in budgerigars, MMSt. Preliminary results suggest that such up-regulation inhibits neural plasticity and stops an individual from learning conspecific contact calls. In budgerigar flocks, up-regulation of FoxP2 should disrupt their ability to build strong enduring social relationships necessary for integration into the group and successful reproduction. While work is ongoing, this project is the first to look at the cascading influences of neurogenetic vocal learning mechanisms on the organization of individual and group social behavior (from individual social integration, to the stability of group-specific dialects).
In budgerigars, small flocks converge upon communally-shared vocal contact calls that facilitate integration into a group by signaling group membership. Using viral vectors I have up-regulated FoxP2—a critical translational factor shaping neural connectivity—in a brain region essential for vocal learning in budgerigars, MMSt. Preliminary results suggest that such up-regulation inhibits neural plasticity and stops an individual from learning conspecific contact calls. In budgerigar flocks, up-regulation of FoxP2 should disrupt their ability to build strong enduring social relationships necessary for integration into the group and successful reproduction. While work is ongoing, this project is the first to look at the cascading influences of neurogenetic vocal learning mechanisms on the organization of individual and group social behavior (from individual social integration, to the stability of group-specific dialects).