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Graduate Student Opportunities
in Dan Mennill's Lab

Introduction

Research in my lab focuses on the ecology and evolution of animal vocal behaviour and animal mating strategies, with a focus on wild birds.  If you are interested in joining my lab as a graduate student, please read the information on this webpage.

August 2011:  My laboratory is currently full.  I will next take on graduate students to start in May or September of 2013.

Project Ideas

I encourage my students to develop graduate research projects that match their individual interests while falling within the framework of my research expertise. You may interact directly with one of my ongoing research projects or you may develop your own project. Most projects in my lab involve a field-based component and a lab-based component. Within Canada, field work is possible in the vicinity of University of Windsor's campus around the Great Lakes, at Point Pelee National Park, or at Queen's University Biological Station. Within Costa Rica, field work is possible in Santa Rosa National Park of the Guanacaste Conservation Area. Presently, I have ongoing field projects in Canada on the behavioural ecology and communication strategies of non-migratory songbirds including Black-capped Chickadees. In Costa Rica, I am presently studying the behaviour and ecology of non-migratory, territorial birds, with a special focus on the duetting behaviour of neotropical birds. You can learn more about my current research projects by visiting my publications page.

My lab is equipped with advanced equipment for field studies of animal behaviour and communication. In my lab you can develop a research project using digital recording equipment, interactive playback equipment, multi-speaker playback equipment, multi-channel array recording equipment, and high precision GPS equipment. The lab component of your research can involve computer-based analyses of single-channel and multi-channel field recordings and GIS analysis of spatial data. In collaboration with my colleagues, you can also have access to advanced facilities for laboratory analyses including molecular paternity analyses, analyses of genetic relatedness, molecular sex assignment, and hormone analyses.

What to expect in the Mennill Lab

My lab is a dynamic and interactive place. You can expect to interact with me and with the other graduate and undergraduate students in the lab on a frequent basis. During lab meetings we review current literature, read each others' manuscripts and grant proposals, and help each other to develop project ideas and analytical techniques. You can expect to develop skills in data analysis and data presentation. I will encourage you and assist you in preparing your research for publication in scientific journals. I will also encourage you to present the results of your research at scientific meetings. I expect you to work hard and to approach your studies with a critical eye and a creative state of mind. We often meet socially on Friday afternoons and we have several lab social events every semester, often involving a birdwatching expedition with a visiting guest speaker. Many more social activities are organized by the Department of Biology Graduate Students Association (DBGSA).

Funding

Funding to work in my lab is available through a variety of sources. Windsor University provides a competitive funding package to graduate students. Funding comes in the form of Graduate Teaching Assistantships, Research Assistantships, and scholarships. I encourage you to apply for scholarships from NSERC (link: www.nserc.ca, go to "Information for Students and Fellows") and from OGS (link: osap.gov.on.ca). If you are not familiar with these programs, I can help you learn about the application process. Details about grad student support, as well as other information about my department, can be found at www.uwindsor.ca/biology (click on the Grad Students link along the left-hand side and choose Biological Sciences Graduate Studies). I encourage all of my students to apply to the many granting agencies who support graduate student research (see BirdNet for a comprehensive list of all grants available).

University of Windsor

The University of Windsor is an excellent research university in southern Ontario. Historically recognized for a strong teaching program, over the last ten years the University has now built an impressive research program, including expertise in the field of Avian Ecology and Aquatic Ecology. The Ecology Evolution Environment and Behaviour (EEEB) group is comprised of a diverse group of research scientists that are some of the most outstanding research-oriented biologists in Canada. Students in my lab interact closely with Dr. Stephanie Doucet, who studies the evolutionary ecology of animal colouration, Dr. Trevor Pitcher, who studies the ecology and evolution of mating systems in fish and birds, Dr. Oliver Love, who studies hormones and behaviour in wild birds, Dr. Dennis Higgs, who studies fish sensory biology and fish bioacoustics, and Dr. Daniel Heath, who studies molecular ecology and conservation biology through genetic tools. You can access my colleagues' webpages through this link.

We bring in a wide variety of guest speakers to the University of Windsor through the Departmental Seminar Series and through the Behaviour Cognition and Neuroscience Seminar Series. Recently we have hosted very stimulating visits from Dr. Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde, Dr. Peter Dunn, Dr. Linda Whittingham, Dr. Jordan Price, Dr. John Klicka, Dr. Ryan Norris, Dr. Jeff Podos , Dr. David Lahti, Dr. Beth MacDougall-Shackleton, Dr. Nigel Mann, Dr. Ben Evans, Dr. Angelika Poesel, Dr. Geoff Hill, Dr. Gail Patricelli , Dr. Chris Sturdy, Dr. Jim Quinn, Dr. John Burt, and Dr. Michael Kasumovic.

The city of Windsor is a goodplace to live and study. It is an underrated city which hosts a tremendous diversity of fine restaurants, good pubs, many nearby hiking trails, lakes and rivers, and reasonably-priced housing. The bird watching around Windsor is excellent in all seasons. Point Pelee and Holiday Beach, two of the world's finest spots for watching bird migration, are only a very short drive away. Learn more about the city of Windsor through this link.

If you are interested in graduate work in my lab, please read some of my recent publications (available at my publications page) and contact me to introduce yourself (dmennillATuwindsorDOTca). Please include your CV and a brief explanation of your research interests.

Note to non-Canadians: My University's short-sighted decision to increase international grad student tuition makes graduate studies for non-Canadians very expensive, so that it is challenging for me to take on non-Canadians unless they have independent funding. There are several scholarships available for non-Canadians who have strong track records (e.g. published papers, high grades, experience).

Dan with a black-capped chickadee.
 

Recording animal communication networks using a 16-channel acoustic location system.
 

Setting up automated listening stations to conduct long-term remote monitoring.
 

Multi-speaker playback for simulating interactions between multiple birds.
 

Iinteractive playback for engaging territorial birds in realistic interactions.
 

The Biology Building at the University of Windsor and the Mennill Lab Subaru.
 

The Mennill Sound Analysis Laboratory.
 

Capacity for storage of over 60 terrabytes of digital sound recordings.
 

Study museum specimens at the nearby University of Michigan vertebrate museum.


Field research site: Ontario at Queen's University Biological Station (QUBS).
 

A black-capped chickadee at QUBS.
 

Winter field research banding chickadees at QUBS.
 

Field research site: The Mennill/Doucet research station in Costa Rica.
 

A duetting Thryothorus wren in Costa Rica.
 

Adventuresome field research in Canada or the tropics.