
SICB 2024 in Seattle
January 2024
The Vitousek Lab had a great showing at the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology's meeting in January 2024, with 12 current members and recent graduates presenting! Everyone did a great job, from first-time undergraduate attendees to seasoned presenters.
January 2024
The Vitousek Lab had a great showing at the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology's meeting in January 2024, with 12 current members and recent graduates presenting! Everyone did a great job, from first-time undergraduate attendees to seasoned presenters.

Maren receives the Brewster Award from AOS
August 2023
Maren was excited and honored to receive the 2023 William Brewster Memorial Award from the American Ornithological Society! A big thank you to all of our collaborators, and to all the people that have contributed to and supported our research in so many ways.
August 2023
Maren was excited and honored to receive the 2023 William Brewster Memorial Award from the American Ornithological Society! A big thank you to all of our collaborators, and to all the people that have contributed to and supported our research in so many ways.

Congrats to our four amazing PhD graduates!
Spring 2023
It was a very big spring for the Vitousek Lab family! Dr. Jenny Uehling defended her thesis in March, and is headed to West Chester University to start her own lab as an assistant professor. Dr. Jenn Houtz defended in April, and will be starting an assistant professorship at Allegheny College. Dr. Colleen Miller, who also defended in April, is headed to a postdoc at the University of Minnesota. And Dr. David Chang van Oordt defended in May, and is headed to Princeton for a postdoc. I have been so lucky to get to work with these fantastic scientists and wonderful people, and can't wait to see all the great things they will do in the future!
Spring 2023
It was a very big spring for the Vitousek Lab family! Dr. Jenny Uehling defended her thesis in March, and is headed to West Chester University to start her own lab as an assistant professor. Dr. Jenn Houtz defended in April, and will be starting an assistant professorship at Allegheny College. Dr. Colleen Miller, who also defended in April, is headed to a postdoc at the University of Minnesota. And Dr. David Chang van Oordt defended in May, and is headed to Princeton for a postdoc. I have been so lucky to get to work with these fantastic scientists and wonderful people, and can't wait to see all the great things they will do in the future!

Jenny Uehling wins best student talk award at AOS!
July 2022
Congrats to Jenny Uehling whose talk on the effects of corticosterone on foraging decisions won the Mark E. Hauber Student Presentation Award at the American Ornithological Society meeting in Puerto Rico!
July 2022
Congrats to Jenny Uehling whose talk on the effects of corticosterone on foraging decisions won the Mark E. Hauber Student Presentation Award at the American Ornithological Society meeting in Puerto Rico!
Vitousek Lab awarded new collaborative NSF grant!
Summer 2021 Maren, Conor, and Dan Ardia (Franklin and Marshall) received a grant from IOS-Animal Behavior to study the long-term effects of environmental challenges on behavior, physiology, epigenetic state, and fitness. Stay tuned for our first results! |

Jenn Houtz wins best student talk award!
January 2021
Congrats to grad student Jenn Houtz, whose fantastic presentation on microbial diversity and flexibility in tree swallows was awarded the best student talk in the Division of Ecoimmunology and Disease Ecology at SICB 2021!
January 2021
Congrats to grad student Jenn Houtz, whose fantastic presentation on microbial diversity and flexibility in tree swallows was awarded the best student talk in the Division of Ecoimmunology and Disease Ecology at SICB 2021!
Live-streaming nest boxes during the COVID shut-down
December 2020 When the coronavirus pandemic closed schools in the spring of 2020 that didn't stop grad students Jenn Houtz, Jenny Uehling, and Rachel Mady! In a new paper they detail how they live-streamed nest boxes into the homes of 5th graders to continue a year-long program teaching students about avian ecology and biodiversity. |

New paper in Nature Ecology and Evolution on identity and field work risk
October 2020
A new paper by Monique Pipkin and Amelia Demery (also an EEB grad student) addresses how researchers of some identities face increased risk while engaging in field work - and what researchers, supervisors, departments, and universities can do to help. A must read for everyone who does or oversees field research!
October 2020
A new paper by Monique Pipkin and Amelia Demery (also an EEB grad student) addresses how researchers of some identities face increased risk while engaging in field work - and what researchers, supervisors, departments, and universities can do to help. A must read for everyone who does or oversees field research!

PNAS paper on a different kind of climate-induced phenological mismatch
October 2020
An analysis led by former EEB graduate student, and current Max Planck postdoc, Ryan Shipley, and published in PNAS, finds a major cost of responding to changing climates: as a result of breeding earlier in the spring tree swallows now face twice as many cold snaps during breeding as they did a few decades ago. Result: lots of nestling mortality!
October 2020
An analysis led by former EEB graduate student, and current Max Planck postdoc, Ryan Shipley, and published in PNAS, finds a major cost of responding to changing climates: as a result of breeding earlier in the spring tree swallows now face twice as many cold snaps during breeding as they did a few decades ago. Result: lots of nestling mortality!

What can we learn about stress from birds?
July 2020
Have you ever wondered what stresses birds out? Or why we respond to stress in the way we do? Check out this animated video created by Monique Pipkin, Conor Taff, Mya Thompson and Maren Vitousek. It was funded by Maren and Dan's NSF grant - and features Monique's narration debut!
July 2020
Have you ever wondered what stresses birds out? Or why we respond to stress in the way we do? Check out this animated video created by Monique Pipkin, Conor Taff, Mya Thompson and Maren Vitousek. It was funded by Maren and Dan's NSF grant - and features Monique's narration debut!

Swallows reared in cold temperatures are more responsive to stress in adulthood
March 2020
A new paper in the Journal of Animal Ecology led by grad student Jenny Uehling finds that female tree swallows that were incubated during periods of particularly cold weather mounted a greater hormonal stress response in adulthood, when raising their own young.
March 2020
A new paper in the Journal of Animal Ecology led by grad student Jenny Uehling finds that female tree swallows that were incubated during periods of particularly cold weather mounted a greater hormonal stress response in adulthood, when raising their own young.

Global patterns of DNA methylation predict stress resilience and signal color
December 2019
A study published in Molecular Ecology that was co-led by Conor Taff and Leo Campagna found that tree swallows with lower levels of methylation at differentially methylated regions across the genome were later more resistant to environmental stressors, and had brighter white breast plumage (a social signal). This effort also included the sequencing and assembly of the tree swallow genome!
December 2019
A study published in Molecular Ecology that was co-led by Conor Taff and Leo Campagna found that tree swallows with lower levels of methylation at differentially methylated regions across the genome were later more resistant to environmental stressors, and had brighter white breast plumage (a social signal). This effort also included the sequencing and assembly of the tree swallow genome!

New Lab Members
August 2019
A warm welcome to two incoming lab members: first year PhD student Monique Pipkin (left, hard at work), and new lab manager Brittany Laslow. Both come with a wealth of research experience in different systems. We are very excited to have both Monique and Brittany in the lab!
August 2019
A warm welcome to two incoming lab members: first year PhD student Monique Pipkin (left, hard at work), and new lab manager Brittany Laslow. Both come with a wealth of research experience in different systems. We are very excited to have both Monique and Brittany in the lab!

Undergraduate Researchers Present at CIHMID Symposia
August 2019
Summer students Tifani Panek and Sungmin Ko presented beautiful posters of their research projects at CIHMID symposia! Both spent the summer participating in Cornell Institute for Host Microbiome Interactions and Disease (CIHMID) undergraduate research programs. Mentored by grad student Jenn Houtz, Tifani and Sungmin tested whether the microbiome influences thermal adaptation in developing tree swallows. Stay tuned as their results continue to roll in.
August 2019
Summer students Tifani Panek and Sungmin Ko presented beautiful posters of their research projects at CIHMID symposia! Both spent the summer participating in Cornell Institute for Host Microbiome Interactions and Disease (CIHMID) undergraduate research programs. Mentored by grad student Jenn Houtz, Tifani and Sungmin tested whether the microbiome influences thermal adaptation in developing tree swallows. Stay tuned as their results continue to roll in.

DARPA Director's Fellowship
May 2019
The lab is excited to receive a Director's Fellowship Award from DARPA! This award, part of the Young Faculty program, is supporting research testing the relationships among social interactions and recovery from stress. Experiments are already full swing, with a busy field season underway, and a big team of postdocs, grads, and undergrad researchers - shown here on a rare summer afternoon outside of the field lab!
May 2019
The lab is excited to receive a Director's Fellowship Award from DARPA! This award, part of the Young Faculty program, is supporting research testing the relationships among social interactions and recovery from stress. Experiments are already full swing, with a busy field season underway, and a big team of postdocs, grads, and undergrad researchers - shown here on a rare summer afternoon outside of the field lab!

Conor's paper on sociality, signals, and stress resilience published in Behavioral Ecology
May 2019
A new paper led by Conor found that tree swallows are exceedingly nosy neighbors. Birds of both sexes frequently visit other boxes while raising their own young. The number of visits birds make and receive is predicted by the whiteness of ventral feathers. Intriguingly, Conor also found that ventral feather brightness is a strong predictor of stress resilience.
May 2019
A new paper led by Conor found that tree swallows are exceedingly nosy neighbors. Birds of both sexes frequently visit other boxes while raising their own young. The number of visits birds make and receive is predicted by the whiteness of ventral feathers. Intriguingly, Conor also found that ventral feather brightness is a strong predictor of stress resilience.

Maren receives the Kendall S. Carpenter award
May 2019
Maren was honored to receive the Kendall S. Carpenter Memorial Advising Award from Cornell in May. A big thanks to all of the dedicated grads and postdocs who co-mentor student research, and to all the incredible undergrads who have come through our lab!
May 2019
Maren was honored to receive the Kendall S. Carpenter Memorial Advising Award from Cornell in May. A big thanks to all of the dedicated grads and postdocs who co-mentor student research, and to all the incredible undergrads who have come through our lab!

Cedric's paper on the predictors of stress resilience published in Functional Ecology
March 2019
Work led by Cedric found that among birds facing both natural and experimental challenges, stress resilience is best predicted by mounting a strong glucocorticoid stress response and rapidly and effectively terminating that response through negative feedback. This was truly a team effort - coauthors include lab members Conor Taff and Tom Ryan, and collaborators Dan Ardia and David Winkler.
March 2019
Work led by Cedric found that among birds facing both natural and experimental challenges, stress resilience is best predicted by mounting a strong glucocorticoid stress response and rapidly and effectively terminating that response through negative feedback. This was truly a team effort - coauthors include lab members Conor Taff and Tom Ryan, and collaborators Dan Ardia and David Winkler.

New paper in The American Naturalist
March 2019
An analysis of macroevolutionary patterning in glucocorticoids found that across vertebrates, selection appears to favor the "supportive" role of glucocorticoids in responding effectively to challenges. In contrast, the predictors of variation in stress-induced glucocorticoids suggests that selection generally favors "protection" from glucocorticoid-induced costs.
March 2019
An analysis of macroevolutionary patterning in glucocorticoids found that across vertebrates, selection appears to favor the "supportive" role of glucocorticoids in responding effectively to challenges. In contrast, the predictors of variation in stress-induced glucocorticoids suggests that selection generally favors "protection" from glucocorticoid-induced costs.

SICB Annual Meeting
Jan 2019
Seven members of the lab traveled to Tampa in January for the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology annual meeting. Conor, Cedric, Alli and Jenny gave talks on their research, and Tom and Jenn presented posters. Maren also participated in a great symposium on stress across biological levels of organization run by Britt Heidinger and Haruka Wada. After the meeting fun we drove down to Crystal Springs to snorkel with manatees, which I think was on the bucket list for all! It was a cold day, so there were tons of manatees...and they were very friendly.
Jan 2019
Seven members of the lab traveled to Tampa in January for the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology annual meeting. Conor, Cedric, Alli and Jenny gave talks on their research, and Tom and Jenn presented posters. Maren also participated in a great symposium on stress across biological levels of organization run by Britt Heidinger and Haruka Wada. After the meeting fun we drove down to Crystal Springs to snorkel with manatees, which I think was on the bucket list for all! It was a cold day, so there were tons of manatees...and they were very friendly.

Welcome to many new lab members!
The lab has grown substantially this year. We welcomed three new graduate students: Jenn Houtz and Colleen Miller began the EEB PhD program in the fall, and third-year student David Chang van Oordt transferred into the lab. We are also thrilled to be joined by two new postdocs and Rose Fellows Alli Injaian and Sabrina McNew. Our ranks also now include six junior field assistants/ pipetters-in-training (also known as the lab F1s)
The lab has grown substantially this year. We welcomed three new graduate students: Jenn Houtz and Colleen Miller began the EEB PhD program in the fall, and third-year student David Chang van Oordt transferred into the lab. We are also thrilled to be joined by two new postdocs and Rose Fellows Alli Injaian and Sabrina McNew. Our ranks also now include six junior field assistants/ pipetters-in-training (also known as the lab F1s)

HormoneBase released
One of our biggest projects came to fruition this week with the release of the HormoneBase dataset! This five-year effort involved a collaboration among a dozen contributing labs - including co-leader Michele Johnson - and countless other participants. Lab members Laura Schoenle and Jenny Uehling were particularly central to our efforts. A number of the resulting analyses are currently in press in a special issue of Integrative and Comparative Biology, with more on the way. We encourage additional data submissions at www.hormonebase.org
One of our biggest projects came to fruition this week with the release of the HormoneBase dataset! This five-year effort involved a collaboration among a dozen contributing labs - including co-leader Michele Johnson - and countless other participants. Lab members Laura Schoenle and Jenny Uehling were particularly central to our efforts. A number of the resulting analyses are currently in press in a special issue of Integrative and Comparative Biology, with more on the way. We encourage additional data submissions at www.hormonebase.org

Amazing undergrads!
Three lab undergrads presented their research at Cornell's Undergrad Research in Biology fair. Eric Alerte presented on the effect of predator exposure during development on cricket morphology and behavior, Danica Lee presented her work on the tree swallow microbiota, and Alyssa Rodriguez practiced for a successful defense of her honors thesis on the relationships between color and corticosterone levels in tree swallows. Congrats to all!
Three lab undergrads presented their research at Cornell's Undergrad Research in Biology fair. Eric Alerte presented on the effect of predator exposure during development on cricket morphology and behavior, Danica Lee presented her work on the tree swallow microbiota, and Alyssa Rodriguez practiced for a successful defense of her honors thesis on the relationships between color and corticosterone levels in tree swallows. Congrats to all!

Awards dinner
Jocelyn, Maren, and Alyssa attended the CALS awards dinner in April, where Maren received the Faculty Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award. The mini lab reunion (and the cheesecake) were excellent. Thanks to all of the wonderful undergrads who have brought so much to the lab - including these two long-time lab members!
Jocelyn, Maren, and Alyssa attended the CALS awards dinner in April, where Maren received the Faculty Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award. The mini lab reunion (and the cheesecake) were excellent. Thanks to all of the wonderful undergrads who have brought so much to the lab - including these two long-time lab members!

Glucocorticoids are repeatable!
Postdocs Conor Taff and Laura Schoenle published a nice meta-analysis on glucocorticoid repeatability across taxa in General and Comparative Endocrinology. A quick synopsis: despite their high intra-individual variation, baseline and stress-induced glucocorticoids are significantly repeatable, as are fecal and feather samples. Unsurprisingly, repeatability decreases with increased time between sampling events.
Postdocs Conor Taff and Laura Schoenle published a nice meta-analysis on glucocorticoid repeatability across taxa in General and Comparative Endocrinology. A quick synopsis: despite their high intra-individual variation, baseline and stress-induced glucocorticoids are significantly repeatable, as are fecal and feather samples. Unsurprisingly, repeatability decreases with increased time between sampling events.

SICB Symposium and Presentations
Nine members and friends of the lab traveled to San Francisco in early January to attend the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology's annual meeting. Everyone presented, including first-time attendees Jenny Uehling and Tom Ryan, and undergrad Alyssa Rodriguez. Maren and Michele Johnson co-organized a symposium entitled "Illuminating endocrine evolution through large-scale comparative analyses", which featured lots of great talks, and an associated mentoring program for students from under-represented backgrounds. We can't wait for next year's meeting!
Nine members and friends of the lab traveled to San Francisco in early January to attend the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology's annual meeting. Everyone presented, including first-time attendees Jenny Uehling and Tom Ryan, and undergrad Alyssa Rodriguez. Maren and Michele Johnson co-organized a symposium entitled "Illuminating endocrine evolution through large-scale comparative analyses", which featured lots of great talks, and an associated mentoring program for students from under-represented backgrounds. We can't wait for next year's meeting!

Maren receives the DARPA Young Faculty Award!
In August Maren traveled to the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA) headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia to accept the award, and to hear more about the exciting and innovative work across many domains that is supported by this program.
Our lab's award will support a large, multiyear study of how social interactions and stressors influence the biology of individuals that experience them. Maren, Conor, and the rest of the team are excited to begin work on this new project!
In August Maren traveled to the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA) headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia to accept the award, and to hear more about the exciting and innovative work across many domains that is supported by this program.
Our lab's award will support a large, multiyear study of how social interactions and stressors influence the biology of individuals that experience them. Maren, Conor, and the rest of the team are excited to begin work on this new project!

The lab welcomes new graduate student Tom Ryan
Incoming EEB PhD student Tom arrived a few months early to get a jump start on field work. After a busy few weeks with the Ithaca team he set off for McCarthy, Alaska to begin working with the swallows there - and exploring glaciers in his free time! Tom is interested in the endocrine mediators of parental behavior in birds, and already has extensive field work experience across the Americas and Australia.
Incoming EEB PhD student Tom arrived a few months early to get a jump start on field work. After a busy few weeks with the Ithaca team he set off for McCarthy, Alaska to begin working with the swallows there - and exploring glaciers in his free time! Tom is interested in the endocrine mediators of parental behavior in birds, and already has extensive field work experience across the Americas and Australia.

New research directions supported by Affinito-Stewart Grant
Maren was an awarded an Affinito-Stewart grant to support collaborative work testing the links between environmental stressors and the gut microbiome in free-living birds.
Photo: Abigail Blackstone
Maren was an awarded an Affinito-Stewart grant to support collaborative work testing the links between environmental stressors and the gut microbiome in free-living birds.
Photo: Abigail Blackstone

Lab members present stress research at SICB and other meetings
Cedric, Conor, Laura, and Maren flew south in January to attend the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology annual meeting in New Orleans. Lab members also presented at several other conferences this year, including NAOC in Washington DC, and ISAE in Ontario, Canada - where we took advantage of a free afternoon to go zip-lining down to Niagara Falls!
Cedric, Conor, Laura, and Maren flew south in January to attend the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology annual meeting in New Orleans. Lab members also presented at several other conferences this year, including NAOC in Washington DC, and ISAE in Ontario, Canada - where we took advantage of a free afternoon to go zip-lining down to Niagara Falls!

New paper in Trends in Ecology and Evolution
Conor and Maren's paper proposes a conceptual framework of rapid endocrine flexibility that integrates ecological endocrinology with research on phenotypic plasticity and behavioral syndromes.
Conor and Maren's paper proposes a conceptual framework of rapid endocrine flexibility that integrates ecological endocrinology with research on phenotypic plasticity and behavioral syndromes.

The tree swallow research team begins work in Alaska!
The tree team headed to incredible McCarthy in May to begin the first season of work on comparative stress physiology. The team, headed by postdoc Cedric Zimmer, includes undergrads Alyssa Rodriguez (Cornell), Abby Blackstone (University of Alaska-Fairbanks), and Yosvany Rodriguez (Franklin and Marshall). We were joined by collaborators Alex Rose and Dan Ardia.
The tree team headed to incredible McCarthy in May to begin the first season of work on comparative stress physiology. The team, headed by postdoc Cedric Zimmer, includes undergrads Alyssa Rodriguez (Cornell), Abby Blackstone (University of Alaska-Fairbanks), and Yosvany Rodriguez (Franklin and Marshall). We were joined by collaborators Alex Rose and Dan Ardia.

Welcome to new postdoc Cedric Zimmer!
Cedric is a physiologist and behavioral endocrinologist with expertise in how animals respond to stress. He joined the lab this spring, and will be leading research comparing how swallows that breed in very different environments cope with challenges. Before coming to Cornell, Cedric was a postdoc with Karen Spencer at St. Andrews studying the effects of exposure to stressors during development on physiology, behavior, and gene expression.
Cedric is a physiologist and behavioral endocrinologist with expertise in how animals respond to stress. He joined the lab this spring, and will be leading research comparing how swallows that breed in very different environments cope with challenges. Before coming to Cornell, Cedric was a postdoc with Karen Spencer at St. Andrews studying the effects of exposure to stressors during development on physiology, behavior, and gene expression.

Meeting on Advancing the Accessibility of Data for Behavioral Research funded by NSF
NSF has awarded us funding to put together a three-day workshop on advancing data accessibility in behavioral research in 2016! The proposal, which was led by Mike Webster, also includes Ed Scholes and David Winkler. We are excited to work with this great team, and others in the field, to address strategies for making non-standard data sets relevant for behavioral research - including physiological data - widely accessible.
NSF has awarded us funding to put together a three-day workshop on advancing data accessibility in behavioral research in 2016! The proposal, which was led by Mike Webster, also includes Ed Scholes and David Winkler. We are excited to work with this great team, and others in the field, to address strategies for making non-standard data sets relevant for behavioral research - including physiological data - widely accessible.

Jocelyn Stedman wins Sherman Award!
A big congratulations to Jocelyn Stedman, a three-year lab member whose honors thesis won the Cynthia Kagarise Sherman Award for the best undergraduate thesis in behavior from the Neurobiology and Behavior Department!
A big congratulations to Jocelyn Stedman, a three-year lab member whose honors thesis won the Cynthia Kagarise Sherman Award for the best undergraduate thesis in behavior from the Neurobiology and Behavior Department!

Vitousek Lab receives NSF grant!
Our lab's proposal to study variation in the stress response has been funded! This research will address why some individuals, and some populations, are better at coping with stress than others. The four-year project - which will involve tree swallows breeding across a range of environments from Alaska to Tennessee - includes collaborations with several research labs, including Co-PI Dan Ardia.
Photo: David Winkler

Barn swallow signal-physiology feedbacks featured in Science.
Our finding that the color of a female's feathers influences her oxidative stress and testosterone levels was featured in the Editor's Choice section of Science. This research was done with collaborators Rebecca Safran and Rose Stewart. You can access the feature here, and the full article here.
Photo: Matt Wilkins
Our finding that the color of a female's feathers influences her oxidative stress and testosterone levels was featured in the Editor's Choice section of Science. This research was done with collaborators Rebecca Safran and Rose Stewart. You can access the feature here, and the full article here.
Photo: Matt Wilkins