Mule Deer
​(Odocoileus hemionus)

The FLC Mule Deer Project (est. 2022) is a longitudinal study on the habituated population of Mule Deer found on The Fort campus. To date it has facilitated 4 Senior Research Experience projects and a presentation at an international conference by exemplary undergrad Madison Evans (ABS 2024, London Ontario).

We use a combination of behavioral, neuroendocrine, and genetic data to understand the attentional social network of this unusually cooperative Cervid.

In particular we look at the mechanisms by which does gain, maintain, and exert social influence in these matriarchal, multi-male, fission-fusion groups.

You can follow along as we get to know the herd on our Instagram!

Burton's Mouthbrooder
(Astatotilapia burtoni)

Burton's Mouthbrooder is a haplochromine ("hap") cichlid fish from Lake Tanganyika. The ancestors of our lab population were captured in the Rusizi River, Burundi, in 1977. This highly social, politically savvy fish is capable of tracking the win/loss relationships among other members of their social group and exploiting that information to advance in the community hierarchy. 

Social dominance in these fish is based on the ability to control territory and reproductive opportunities. This is accomplished by highly ritualized jousts between individuals, in which moment-to-moment changes in confidence are reflected in dramatic and rapid changes in physical form.

​Mountain Bluebirds
​(Sialia currucoides)

Mountain bluebirds are socially, but not necessarily sexually monogamous. We have installed cameras to observe a wild, individually banded population of these birds solving cognitive tasks. 

We hope to learn if offspring from families with higher sexual fidelity exhibit greater or less cognitive flexibility.