Meet Stengl-Wyer Scholar: Shana Caro

October 13, 2020 • by Nicole Elmer
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Left: Shana holding a superb starling (Lamprotornis superbus) Right: Superb starling chicks. (Lamprotornis superbus)


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A good costume choice!

What got you interested in studying birds?

I actually applied to grad school to do genetic engineering in bacteria, but at my first meeting with my supervisor Ashleigh Griffin, she told me she thought I would enjoy working on birds more. And she was right! Birds are wonderfully complex and subtle creatures, and I enjoy putting spycams inside bird nests much more than pipetting bacteria. My research focuses on how social behavior evolves when natural selection seesaws between favoring cooperation or competition-- and a nest of squawking baby birds is a perfect lens for this. Furthermore, because birds are such a well-studied taxon, I have the opportunity to conduct powerful comparative meta-analyses to look at broad patterns across species, in addition to my experimental work within species. 

How do field labs like the ones at UT figure into your work?

The Brackenridge Field Laboratory was a major draw bringing me to UT Austin. I plan to establish a nest box population of European starlings there, and use the aviaries to conduct more controlled experiments. Having an established field lab right next to campus is an invaluable resource and something quite special about UT Austin. It means that undergraduates can have a much easier time getting hands-on experience helping with research. It's full of resources that most field sites lack, and those resources (even electricity!) are a lot closer at hand than at most field sites. Most importantly, its long history lets researchers observe ecological changes over time, which generates different insights than snapshot studies.

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 A publication figure showing the ways different bird species communicate.

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