Stephen Nowicki
Professor of Biology and Dean of Undergraduate Education

919-668-2728, 919-684-6950

102 Allen Bldg/0013 Bio Sci

Dr. Nowicki's Lab Page

Research Interests: Ecology, evolution and mechanisms of animal communication

The Nowicki laboratory studies the ecology and evolution of animal behavior, especially questions about the evolution of diversity and complexity in animal communication signals. Steve Nowicki's current work focuses on birdsong, although he and his students have worked on a diverse array of organisms including invertebrates such as insects, spiders, crabs, shrimp and lobsters, and other vertebrates including lizards, ground squirrels and primates. Research projects combine field observation and experimentation, with laboratory studies of perception, neuroanatomy, functional morphology, phylogenetic analysis, and state-of-the-art digital signal processing. Nowicki's ongoing research projects lie in two main areas. The first concerns the evolution of receiver preferences for signal characteristics, with the goal of determining the proximate mechanisms by which signals may provide accurate information about the sender's condition or other relevant characteristics. The second main area examines how morphological and physiological mechanisms of signal production influence the evolution of signal diversity.

Recent Publications   (More Publications)   (search)

1. Searcy W. A. and S. Nowicki, Signal interception and the use of soft song in aggressive interactions, Ethology, vol. 112 (2006), pp. 865-872 .
2. Searcy, W. A., R. Anderson & S. Nowicki, Bird song as a signal of aggressive intent, Bahvioral Ecology and Sociobiology, vol. 160 (2006), pp. 234-241 .
3. S. Nowicki & W. A. Searcy, Adaptive priorities in brain development: Theoretical comment of Pravosudov (2005), Behavioral Neuroscience (Accepted, 2005) .
4. Nowicki, S. & W.A. Searcy, Song and mate choice in birds: How the development of behavior helps us understand function, Auk, vol. 122 (2005), pp. 1-14 .
5. Anderson, R.C., W.A. Searcy & S. Nowicki, Partial song matching in an eastern population of song sparrows (Melospiza melodia), Anim. Behav., vol. 69 (2005), pp. 189-196 .