Stephen Nowicki, Professor of Biology  

Stephen Nowicki

Education:
PhD, Cornell University, 1985
MS Behavioral Biology, Tufts University, 1978
BS Biology and Music (Summa Cum Laude), 1976

Office Location: Allen Bldg: 116/BioSci: 214
Office Phone: 919-668-3420, 919-684-6950
Email Address: snowicki@duke.edu
Web Page: http://www.biology.duke.edu/nowicki/

Specialties:
Organismal Biology and Behavior
Ecology and Population Biology
Evolution

Research Categories: Ecology, evolution and mechanisms of animal communication

Research Description: 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. Ballentine, B., W. A. Searcy & S. Nowicki, Reliable aggressive signalling in swamp sparrows, Animal Behaviour, vol. 75 (2008), pp. 693-703 .
  2. Searcy, W. A., R. C. Anderson & S. Nowicki, Is bird song a reliable signal of aggressive intent? A reply, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, vol. 62 (2008), pp. 1213-1216 .
  3. Anderson, R. C., W. A. Searcy & S. Nowicki, Testing the function of song matching in birds: responses of eastern male song sparrows Melospiza melodia to partial song matching, Behaviour, vol. 154 (2008), pp. 347-363 .
  4. Searcy, W. A. & S. Nowicki, Bird song and the problem of signal reliability, American Scientist, vol. 96 (2008), pp. 114-121 .
  5. Prather, J. F., S. Peters, S. Nowicki & R. Mooney, Precise auditory-motor mirroring in neurons for learned vocal communication, Nature, vol. 451 (2008), pp. 305-310 .

Duke Biology Box 90338 Durham, NC 27708 Phone: 919-660-7372 Fax: 919-660-7293