BRITTANY A. COPPINGER

Brittany A. Coppinger

I am a Mendel Science Experience Postdoctoral Fellow at Villanova University, working in the lab of Dr. Robert Curry. Currently, I research communication variation in the Carolina and black-capped chickadee hybrid zone.

Social Structure and Communication in Mixed-Species Groups

My research program centers on investigating the social and environmental factors that influence structure and complexity of groups and the ways individuals communicate in these groups.

Animal social groups possess multiple levels of organization (scaling from micro to macro in the figure on the left) that converge as multiple influences on behavior. Social groups are also self organizing, meaning that the structure of the group is an emergent property of interactions among its different components. I use flocks of chickadees and titmice to study the causes and consequences of social complexity at each of these levels. Chickadees are particularly useful to test these predictions as they are a small species of Paridae (chickadees, tits, and titmice) that have a flexible social structure, with seasonal changes in their social complexity due to the fact that they form small, stable, non-migratory, mixed-species flocks in the overwintering months. These birds have a complex, open-ended calling system. Their distinctive chick-a-dee call comprises several notes that make the structure of the chick-a-dee call incredibly diverse, allowing for the assessment of mathematical information and complexity within their communication system

Take a look at my previous publications!

Aim 1: Effects of Individual Phenotypes and Behavior on Group Level Structure
In my current position at Villanova University, I am leveraging RFID technology and programmed bird feeders to investigate how individuals in mixed-species groups communicate about finding food, and how these behaviors shape their social group structure. Stay tuned for updates from this work!

Aim 2: Social Influences on Communication and Individual Behavioral Variation
In dense groups, individuals are hypothesized to interact more. Therefore, dense groups are thought to be more socially complex than less dense groups. I am currently investigating how social group density influences individual behavior in mono- and mixed-species flocks of chickadees and titmice. Results coming soon!