Phys.Org: UC biologist discusses 100 years of dominance hierarchies
UC assistant professor Elizabeth Hobson co-edited a journal issue dedicated to pecking orders
Phys.Org highlighted a special journal issue dedicated to 100 years of research in dominance hierarchies co-edited by a University of Cincinnati biologist.
UC College of Arts and Sciences assistant professor Elizabeth Hobson contributed to three articles in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, including an analysis of the past 50 years of research in dominance hierarchies or pecking orders.
Hobson has studied how monk parakeets quarrel with competitors closest in status to cement their positions rather than wasting effort fighting the lowest-ranking members of the colony.
"In the parakeets I work with, we don't find a strong correlation between size and dominance. Instead, individuals may need to recognize their rivals and remember past fights and outcomes to come up with a mental model of rank," she said. "That's a very different cognitive task than choosing to fight an opponent simply because it is slightly smaller than you."
Hobson's students will begin a new study in her lab this year looking at dominance hierarchies and other behavior in northern bobwhite quail.
Featured image at top: University of Cincinnati biologist Elizabeth Hobson and her students study the behavior of gregarious monk parakeets. Photo/Michael Miller
Related Stories
Put down that beer; it's not a tanning lotion
July 1, 2024
The University of Cincinnati's Kelly Dobos joined WVXU's Cincinnati Edition to discuss what's fact and what's myth when it comes to sunscreen use, different kinds of sunscreen and a social media recommendation to use beer on your skin to help get a tan.
Cincinnati researchers want to know if MRIs can work better
June 28, 2024
WVXU and the Cincinnati Business Courier highlighted a new collaboration between the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, UC Health GE HealthCare, JobsOhio, REDI Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children’s to create an MRI Research and Development Center of Excellence located on UC’s medical campus.
UC opens Blood Cancer Healing Center
June 28, 2024
Media outlets including WLWT, Local 12, Spectrum News, the Cincinnati Enquirer and Cleveland.com highlighted the opening of the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center's Blood Cancer Healing Center.