Spring 2012
Dr. Rebecca Sardell joined the lab as a postdoctoral fellow, and began her research on the fitness consequences of mate choice in lance-tailed manakins.
Caroline Stahala received a FSU International Dissertation Semester Research Fellowship that will allow her to extend this year's field season in the Bahamas.
Undergraduate researcher Alan Moss completed a directed independent study project on provisioning behavior in cooperative and non-cooperative groups of brown-headed nuthatches.
December 2011
Megan Jones completed her prelims exam and advanced to Ph.D. candidacy.
November 2011
Visiting speaker Dr. Rebecca Sardell presented her work on song sparrow reproductive success. The fourth annual DuVal Lab evening at the North Florida Fair resulted in many roller-coaster rides but unusually low representation in the pig races.
October 2011
Caroline Stahala passed her prelims exam and advanced to Ph.D. candidacy.
The lab had the pleasure of hosting visiting speakers Dr. Eileen Hebets and Dr. Maria Servedio.
Carla received an award from the Horace Loftin Endowmnet to support the start of her independent research in Panama. Caroline and Megan were awarded Robert B. Short Scholarships from the FSU Department of Biological Science to support research-related coursework off campus.
August 2011
Carla Vanderbilt joined the lab as a Ph.D. student. Carla brings with her a coveted NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, which will help her complete her planned fieldwork in Panama.
May 2011
Megan Mayo completed and successfully defended her undergraduate honors thesis on lance-tailed manakin duetting behavior.
October 2010
Caroline Stahala and Aubrey Sirman presented research results at the Florida Ornithological Society meeting at Tall Timbers Research Station. Emily and Megan J. enjoyed the talks and the local birding trips.
September 2010
Megan Mayo's summer research and honors thesis work on lance-tailed manakin vocalizations was featured as a campus Student Profile.
August 2010
Emily Hutchinson joined the lab as research technician for the fall semester.
July 2010
DuVal Lab road trip to the Animal Behavior Society conference in Williamsburg, VA: Megan Jones, Megan Mayo, Sam, Julian, and Emily attended, all presenting work on lance-tailed manakins. Megan Mayo received an honorable mention in the undergraduate poster competition. Congrats, Megan! From the conference, Sam headed to Rota for fieldwork with the Ha lab of Univeristy of Washington
2010 ABS conference in Williamsburg, VA. From left to right: Julian Kapoor, Emily DuVal, Megan Jones, Sam Lantz, and Megan Mayo
May 2010
Congratulations to Caroline Stahala on the success of several recent funding applications! Caroline received independent research grants from the Florida Ornithological Society, Parrots International, and Islands by Design and Schooner Bay in the Bahamas to support her work on group structure in the Bahama Parrot.
April 2010
Congratulations to Megan Jones, who received a coveted NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program award, and to Jessica Lux who earned an honorable mention in the GRFP competition!
Undergraduate researcher Megan Mayo received a prestigious URCAA award to study lance-tailed manakin vocalizations in Panama this summer, and will be continuing this project for her honors thesis research.
November 2009
Kudos from the Department of Biological Science annual awards ceremony: Megan and Caroline both received research awards from the Horace Loftin Endowment, which will help to fund their spring field seasons. Emily received the Loretta C. Ellias Award for Undergraduate Teaching.
August 2009
Graduate students Megan Jones and Jessica Lux joined the DuVal lab; Samantha Lantz joined the lab as a summer research technician and spring field crew leader.
Spring 2009
Fieldwork all around! Maria visited the Isla Boca Brava fieldsite and finally got her hands on a manakin; Caroline headed to the Bahamas for a summer of fieldwork; Aubrey was happily interning at Tall Timbers Research Station
December 2008
The research content of the lab website is now available in Spanish (thanks, Maria!)
November 2008
Maria Wieselmann joined the lab as interm lab manager
September 2008
Aubrey Sirman joined the lab as a DIS student
August 2008
Caroline Stahala joined the DuVal Lab
Our research interests lie in the fields of behavioral ecology, population genetics, and in the role of sexual selection in speciation. Members of the lab currently study the ways that multiple selective forces shape cooperation and competition in vertebrate groups, especially in birds. We are also particularly interested in the intersection of individual behavior and population genetics: the effect that mating systems have on local genetic patterns, the role of relatedness in interactions between individuals, and the use of genetic techniques to accurately assess breeding success in natural populations. To date, many lab projects have used the lance-tailed manakin (Chiroxiphia lanceolata) as a model system.