Songbird Neuroethology Laboratory

Department of Psychology, BioCognition Unit, Centre for Neuroscience, University of Alberta

 

Christopher B. Sturdy Teaching Research & Facilities Publications Research Opportunities
Lab Members & Collaborators Lab News Funding Sturdy Bio Contact


Lauren Guillette, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.

Research Interests

I received my MA in psychology, with a concentration in animal behavior, from Mount Holyoke College in June of 2007. My thesis, prepared under the direction of Karen Hollis, examined the effects of associative learning on the feeding behavior and fitness of a sit-and-wait predator, the larval antlion (Myrmeleon crudelis Walker). Utilizing a long-term associative learning paradigm I assessed the growth rate of antlions both directly and indirectly by analyzing the feeding efficiencies and pit trap size of individual antlions. I use wild-caught and lab reared black-capped and mountain chickadees from several different geographic locations as model species to study vocal production, perception and development of contact calls. To accomplish this I use several different techniques, including - operant conditioning, bioacoustic analysis, behavioural assessment, and cross-fostering. My research interests also include examining the evolution and maintenance of individual differences in behaviour, specifically learning and cognitive differences, in these closely related songbird species.

Recent media coverage: HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE!

New Website for Dr. Lauren Guillette!

 


Publications

  • Guillette, L.M., Reddon, A.R., Hurd, P.L., & Sturdy, C.B. (2009). Exploration of a novel space is associated with individual differences in learning speed in black-capped chickadees, Poecile atricapillus. Behavioural Processes, 82, 265–270.

  • Guillette, L.M., Hollis, K.L., & Markarian, A. (2009). Learning in a sedentary insect predator: Antlions (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae) anticipate a long wait. Behavioural Processes, 80, 224–232.

Presentations

  • Guillette, L.M., Hoeschele, M., Hahn, A.H., & Sturdy, C. B. (2012). Long-term memory for an auditory discrimination in chickadees. 19th Annual Conference on Comparative Cognition (Melbourne Beach, FL).

  • Hoeschele, M., Cook, R.G. Guillette, L.M., & Sturdy, C B. (2012) Timber alters how black-capped chickadees but not humans perceive chords. 19th Annual Conference on Comparative Cognition (Melbourne Beach, FL).

  • Hahn, A.H., Hoeschele, M., Guillette, L.M., Mennill, D., Otter, K., & Sturdy, C. B. (2012). Geographic song discrimination by black-capped chickadees. 19th Annual Conference on Comparative Cognition (Melbourne Beach, FL).

  • Sturdy, C.B., Avey, M. T., Bloomfield, L. L., Elie, J.E., Freeberg, T. M., Guillette, L.M., Hoeschele, M., Lee, H., Moscicki, M. M., & Owens, J. L. (2012). Phylogenetic relatedness and immediate early gene expression in black-capped chickadees. 19th Annual Conference on Comparative Cognition (Melbourne Beach, FL).

  • Guillette, L.M., Hoeschele, M., Hahn, A.H., & Sturdy, C. B. (2011) A comparative account of stimulus control in acoustic species-based discriminations. 4th Annual Fall Meeting of the Comparative Cognition Society (Seattle, WA).

  • Hoeschele, M., Cook, R.G. Guillette, L.M., Hahn, A.H., & Sturdy, C. B. (2011) Abstract concept learning in black-capped chickadees. 4th Annual Fall Meeting of the Comparative Cognition Society (Seattle, WA).

  • Guillette, L.M., Reddon, A.R., Hoeschele, M., Hurd, P., & Sturdy, C.B. (2011) Behavioural profiles in black-capped chickadees: Cognition and exploration of a novel environment. Joint meeting of the International Ethological Conference and the Animal Behavior Society (Bloomington, IN).

  • Hoeschele, M., Weisman, R.G., Guillette, L.M., Hahn, A.H., & Sturdy , C.B. (2011) Pitch chroma and height perception in humans and black-capped chickadees. Joint meeting of the International Ethological Conference and the Animal Behavior Society (Bloomington, IN) .

  • Guillette, L.M., Reddon, A.R., Hoeschele, M., & Sturdy, C.B. (2011) Proactive and reactive birds’ performance varies according to learning task demands. 18th Annual Conference on Comparative Cognition (Melbourne Beach, FL) .

  • Wisniewski, M.G., Guillette, L.M., Radell, M., Sturdy, C.B., & Mercado, E. (2011) Simulating the temporal dynamics of learning-related shifts in generalization gradients with connectionist models. 33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (Boston, MA) .

  • Hahn, A.M., Hoeschele, M., Guillette, L.M., Mennil, D, Otter, K., Grava, T., & Sturdy, C. B. (2011) Dominance and geographic cues in black-capped chickadee songs. 18th Annual Conference on Comparative Cognition (Melbourne Beach, FL) .

  • Guillette, L.M., Hoeschele, M., Farrell, T.M., Bloomfield, L.L., & Sturdy, C.B.  (2010). Note-type based species classification by black capped and mountain chickadees. 17th Annual Conference on Comparative Cognition (Melbourne Beach, FL).

  • Hoeschele, M., Guillette, L.M., Brooks, D.I., Cook, R.G., & Sturdy, C.B. (2010). Chord perception by songbirds and humans. 17th Annual Conference on Comparative Cognition (Melbourne Beach, FL).

  • Sturdy, C.B., Dawson, M.W.R., Guillette, L.M., Nickerson, C.M., Farrell, T. M., Hoeschele, M, Bloomfield, L.L., & Charrier, I. (2009). Birds and models: not as different as you might think. 158th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, (San Antonio, TX)

  • Guillette, L.M., Bloomfield, L.L., Batty, E.R., Dawson, M.R.W., & Sturdy, C.B.  (2009). Black-capped and mountain chickadee contact calls contain species, sex, and individual features. 2nd Annual Fall Meeting of the Comparative Cognition Society (Boston, MA)

  • Sturdy, C.B., Guillette, L.M., Farrell, T.M., Hoeschele, M., Nickerson, C.M. & Dawson, M.R.W. (2009). Peak shift in a multidimensional note-type continuum. 2nd Annual Fall Meeting of the Comparative Cognition Society (Boston, MA)

  • Guillette, L.M., Reddon, A.R., Hurd, P.L., & Sturdy, C.B. (2009). Bold birds learn faster: Environmental exploration and acquisition of an instrumental discrimination. 16th Annual International Conference on Comparative Cognition (Melbourne Beach, FL)

  • Hoeschele, M., Guillette, L.M., Farrell, T.M., & Sturdy, C.B. (2009). Biologically relevant stimuli and operant discriminations in black-capped and mountain chickadees. 16th Annual Conference on Comparative Cognition (Melbourne Beach, FL)

  • Hollis, K.L., Cogswell, H., Snyder, K., & Guillette, L.M. (2009). Further Studies of Learning in Pit-building Antlions (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae). 16th Annual Conference on Comparative Cognition (Melbourne Beach, FL)

  • Guillette, L.M., & Hollis, K.L. (2008). Associative Learning in a Sit-and-wait Predator. 22nd Annual Joseph R. Royce Research Conference (Edmonton, AB)

  • Guillette, L.M., Farrell, T.M., Hoeschele, M., Charrier, I., Dawson, M.R.W., & Sturdy, C.B. (2008). Mechanisms of Call Note Classification. 15th Annual International Conference on Comparative Cognition (Melbourne Beach, FL)

  • Hollis, K.L., & Guillette, L.M. (2008). Learning in Antlions: Anticipating a Long Wait. 15th Annual International Conference on Comparative Cognition (Melbourne Beach, FL)

  • Hollis, K.L., & Guillette, L.M. (2008). Learning in Antlions: Anticipating a Long Wait. The 10th International Symposium on Neuropterology (Piran, Slovenia)

  • Hollis, K.L., Guillette, L.M., & Markarian, A. (2007). Learning in Antlions: Anticipating a Long Wait. Pavlovian Society (Austin, TX)

 

© Christopher B. Sturdy, 2002-2010, all rights reserved
Last updated - 28-02-2013