Research in my lab focuses on the auditory physiology and sensory biology of songbird acoustic communication. I am interested in understanding the relationship between the production and perception of communication signals in the context of their mechanism, development, function, and evolution. We take an integrative approach that draws on methods from behavioral ecology, comparative psychology, neurophysiology, and evolutionary biology to investigate fundamental questions in animal communication. How do animals encode information in the signals they produce? How do they extract information from such signals perceptually? How do these processes function in “noisy” natural habitats? And, ultimately, what factors shape the evolution of such processes? Understanding the interdependencies of signalers, channels, and receivers is essential for knowing how a biological signal functions in its natural context.
For a detailed description of our laboratory and its research, please see Lohr Lab.