Behavioral ecology of blue tits (with Dr. Mihai Valcu)

From EESwiki

Why are females promiscuous? Why do birds divorce? What determines the fitness of an individual? Why is individual genetic diversity important? Questions such as these are addressed using our long-term database on Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), a small passerine bird that breeds in nestboxes. We collect data on breeding biology in the field and on genetic diversity using molecular markers in the lab. The research project focuses on testing scientific questions around current topics in behavioral ecology like extra-pair paternity, divorce, natal and breeding dispersal or age differences in reproductive success. Students will get familiar with the basics of database interrogation and data mining, and apply statistical tools to reveal patterns in the data and to confirm/reject hypotheses. Practical aspects of identifying the hypotheses, querying the database and obtaining the target dataset, understanding the data by using graphical tools and formally testing the hypotheses will be emphasized. Students will learn to use the open source software R (www.r-project.org).