Scott MacDougall-Shackleton, Western University
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
London, Ontario
smacdou2@uwo.ca
Office:
(519) 661-2111 ext. 82066
Expert In
Bio/Research
My education and employment has included training in both Psychology (MA, PhD: Johns Hopkins) and Biology (BSc, MSc: Queen’s; Postdoc: Princeton) Departments. As a result I try to integrate approaches from both fields to understand the mechanisms of behaviour. My research directions are driven by...
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Bio/Research
My education and employment has included training in both Psychology (MA, PhD: Johns Hopkins) and Biology (BSc, MSc: Queen’s; Postdoc: Princeton) Departments. As a result I try to integrate approaches from both fields to understand the mechanisms of behaviour. My research directions are driven by ecological and evolutionary questions. To answer these questions I use methodologies including field work, behavioural psychology, neuroendocrinology and molecular biology.
My research addresses the interaction between neural, endocrine, and perceptual mechanisms and the evolution of animal behaviour. Specifically I am interested in how songbirds integrate environmental information -such as seasonal changes in photoperiod or the courtship song of a mate- and use this information to organize their behaviour in an adaptive way. Thus, I am interested in topics such as i) how birds learn and perceive environmental cues (e.g. birdsong), ii) how these cues are processed by the brain, and how the brain then mediates changes in behaviour and/or reproductive physiology, and iii) how these neural and endocrine mechanisms have been shaped by natural and sexual selection to result in adaptive behaviour.
Research in the lab is broadly integrative. We combine field and laboratory studies, and research ranges from population-level studies to individual behaviour to molecular biology.
The main goal is to understand how the mechanisms of behaviour have been shaped by natural selection. We focus on songbirds because of their phenotypic diversity, behavioural complexity and well-studied physiology and neurobiology.
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My research addresses the interaction between neural, endocrine, and perceptual mechanisms and the evolution of animal behaviour. Specifically I am interested in how songbirds integrate environmental information -such as seasonal changes in photoperiod or the courtship song of a mate- and use this information to organize their behaviour in an adaptive way. Thus, I am interested in topics such as i) how birds learn and perceive environmental cues (e.g. birdsong), ii) how these cues are processed by the brain, and how the brain then mediates changes in behaviour and/or reproductive physiology, and iii) how these neural and endocrine mechanisms have been shaped by natural and sexual selection to result in adaptive behaviour.
Research in the lab is broadly integrative. We combine field and laboratory studies, and research ranges from population-level studies to individual behaviour to molecular biology.
The main goal is to understand how the mechanisms of behaviour have been shaped by natural selection. We focus on songbirds because of their phenotypic diversity, behavioural complexity and well-studied physiology and neurobiology.
Click to Shrink <<