Research Areas: Animal Behavior and Sociobiology
The study of animal behavior is one of the most interdisciplinary enterprises in Biology. As Niko Tinbergen pointed out long ago, to explain any behavior fully requires information about its development, its underlying physiological mechanisms, its adaptive value, and its evolutionary origin and modifications. Therefore, genetics, developmental biology, physiology, ecology, and evolutionary biology must all be employed to construct a complete explanation for any behavioral trait.
The emphasis at ASU is on an integrative approach to behavioral biology and enables our students to acquire the tools needed to investigate fundamental questions at different levels of biological organization and to see the interconnections between the mechanisms of behavior and their evolution. The opportunity for graduate students to learn and use a multi-level research approach is particularly strong here because of the interdisciplinary character of the research of many of the behavioral biologists at ASU. For example, to explore the complex social systems of ants and honeybees several ASU faculty study behavior on multiple levels from genes to social interactions (see "Social Insect Group Research Tools"). Other members of SOLS consider both the adaptive value of color patterns exhibited by birds and butterflies while also looking at the physiology and development of the systems that produce the color patterns. The School of Life Sciences (SOLS) offers graduate researchers the opportunity for training in all the major disciplines that contribute to the study of behavior which in turn expands the options to consider when deciding upon a career in animal behavior.
Graduate students in our program participate in a highly interactive research community and are exposed to cutting-edge field and laboratory techniques. Interactions with the members of the interdisciplinary Center for Social Dynamics and Complexity at ASU provide rich opportunities to explore current theory and modeling techniques. Beyond the SOLS, faculty and students in the Department of Psychology, the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, and the Department of Integrated Natural Sciences, ASU West Campus also help make ASU one of the broadest and strongest centers for animal behavior research in the nation.
Graduate students studying animal behavior and sociobiology in SOLS can receive degrees though several degree programs. We recommend that students apply to the Biology, Environmental Life Sciences, or Neuroscience degree programs, depending on specific area of interest. See individual faculty pages for the specific programs with which each faculty member is associated. A new PhD degree program in Animal Behavior is in development, and likely to be established during 2009.
SOLS Faculty
- John Alcock
- Gro Amdam
- Sharon Crook
- Dale DeNardo
- Pierre Deviche
- Carsten Duch
- Jennifer Fewell
- Juergen Gadau
- Leah Gerber
- Jon Harrison
- Bert Hoelldobler
- Manfred Laubichler
- Juergen Liebig
- Jane Mainschein
- Kevin McGraw
- Michael Moore
- Miles Orchinik
- Robert Page
- David Pearson
- Ronald Rutowski
- Andrew Smith
- Brian Smith
- Glenn Walsberg
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