Owashtanong Islands Audubon Society  –

Bird Behaviors – How the Sensory World Shapes Behavioral Decisions

with Dr. Kelly Ronald, Hope College

Tuesday, February 16, 6:00pm

Loutit District Library, Grand Haven

Birds experience the world in ways that are often very different from our own: for birds, colors are more vibrant, and simple trills are filled with information. In this presentation, Dr. Kelly Ronald will explore the behavioral displays of both common backyard birds and more extravagant species and how their vision and hearing shape the ways they communicate, choose mates, and navigate daily survival. We will learn about how scientists study avian sensory systems and measure behavioral responses while watching unique videos of interesting behaviors. Dr. Ronald will also share how her lab students are investigating how these behaviors are changing and adapting to a world filled with human noise and change.

Dr. Kelly Ronald is a sensory physiologist/ecologist who began her faculty appointment in Hope’s Department of Biology in summer 2019. She is interested in understanding the relationship between animal behavior and sensory physiology by asking the question: What are the physiological mechanisms that contribute to animal behavioral decisions? Dr. Ronald has broad training in animal physiology, behavior and neurobiology. She uses both field and lab approaches to address her research questions. She is interested in the meaning of animal signals and the mechanisms of signal perception across multiple sensory modalities.

This event was submitted to our community calendar page by an outside organizer and is not a Michigan Audubon event. If you have questions, please reach out to the event organizers or the contact information provided in the event description.