Symposium Participants
Rebecca Holberton
Laboratory of Avian Endocrinology
Department of Biological Sciences
5751 Murray Hall
University of Maine
Orono , Maine 04469 USA
ph: 207-581-2526
fax: 207-581-2537
Who am I and what do I do?
I am an Associate Professor of Biology and have been at the University of Maine since August, 2000. I am also a faculty member in the departments of Wildlife Ecology, and Ecology and Environmental Science (for more information about these programs and activities seewebsites above). Prior to returning to the Northeast region (where I grew up), I was Associate Professor in the Biology Department at the University of Mississippi .
After receiving my doctorate with Prof. Ken Able at the University of New York in Albany (1991) where I studied the interaction between endogenous and exogenous factors associated with different migration strategies, I was a post-doctoral research associate with Dr. John Wingfield at the University of Washington in Seattle . I spent two summers (1992, 1994) on Alaska's North Slope investigating how high latitude breeding birds balance survivorship with breeding success under the time and energy constraints of extreme environments (see relevant publications). In 1993, I spent an austral winter at sea studying how seabirds (including several species of penguins and petrels) cope with the extreme winter weather conditions found in the southern ocean around the island of South Georgia (see relevant publications).
My research is question-oriented and, while birds have served as the primary model system, the questions themselves are not restricted to any particular taxon. My program comprises three major components - ecology, behavior, and physiology - and integrates laboratory and field studies. The research has a basic research component - to reach a better understanding of the natural world - and an applied research component - to apply our knowledge of an animal's capabilities and constraints to conservation concerns. My graduate students have investigated a variety of questions that integrate these areas to various degrees (see graduate students, and publications). Their questions have spanned a broad spectrum of the life cycle of birds or reptiles, including the stages of early development and post-natal dispersal, breeding, migration, and the wintering period. Collaborations with other researchers have also been an important activity in our program (see collaborations). Results have been published in a wide variety of journals (e.g., Proceedings of the Royal Society, Animal Behavior, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, General and Comparative Endocrinology, Journal of Comparative Physiology, Journal of Experimental Zoology, The Auk, Condor, Herpetological Review, etc.). Funding has come from various sources including the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Science Foundation, as well as many other private foundations and public programs. Students have been successful in obtaining additional funding through competitive award programs offered by a variety of professional and private organizations (see list of helpful resources). Students have received travel or presentation awards at various professional meetings.
