A male Broad-tailed Hummingbird
© M. C. Stoddard
Welcome to the Stoddard Lab.
Why do we observe such striking diversity in animal colors, patterns and structures in the natural world? What evolutionary processes shape this diversity, and what mechanisms are responsible? We use a multidisciplinary approach to explore key questions in evolution, behavior and sensory ecology, with a focus on visual communication and signaling in birds, the most colorful terrestrial vertebrates.
Our major research topics include animal coloration and patterning, avian color vision, and the evolution of eggs. Within these themes, we investigate plumage evolution, iridescence, multimodal communication and sexual selection, brood parasitism and coevolution, spatial vision and pattern recognition, mimicry and camouflage, pollination behavior, and the evolution of signals used for species and individual recognition. Beyond color, we have a deep interest in avian physiology and the structure and function of morphological traits, which we investigate currently in avian eggs.
Our work incorporates techniques from computer science, mathematics, optics, physiology, animal behavior, mechanical engineering and comparative genomics. Our research combines experiments in the lab and field with studies based in museum collections, especially at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Our main field sites are at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, Colorado, and the Mountain Lake Biological Station in Pembroke, Virginia, where we are investigating hummingbird color vision. Back in the lab, we are passionate about developing new optical, hardware and software tools for the study of animal color, and we are committed to making these resources available to the scientific community.
Finding solutions to some of the most pressing challenges we face—from climate change to biodiversity loss—will require a fundamental understanding of birds and the ecosystems they inhabit. We are eager to apply our work in ways that will help protect the planet. For more information about our outreach efforts, check out the Princeton Better for Birds Project.
Here’s how our work IS HELPING to understand
climate change and safeguard biodiversity.
Designed by Laz Lazarova
IN THE NEWS:
BirDiversity ART EXHIBITION
The BirDiversity Art Exhibition was a celebration of art, science and ornithology in the Princeton University community. The exhibition highlighted the creative work of artists and scientists of all experience levels, and generated discussion about birds in our rapidly-changing world. Above all, BirDiversity intended to shine a light on the beautiful, mysterious, and diverse birds with which we share our planet. The exhibition opened on November 11, 2023, in the Lewis Center for the Arts. BirDiversity is part of the Princeton Better for Birds Project.
ATTN PROSPECTIVE POSTDOCS: The Stoddard Lab at Princeton is recruiting one or more postdocs to work on diverse topics related to avian structural color, color vision, advanced imaging, and/or hummingbird-plant dynamics. For details, please see the advertisement on the Princeton application portal here.
