Allison Cornell's Lab
Integrating field ecology, physiology, and behavior to understand how animals respond to changing environments
The Cornell Lab investigates how environmental variation shapes individual differences in physiology and behavior, and how these differences ultimately affect fitness. We focus primarily on free-living songbirds during the breeding season, using nest box systems to monitor reproductive behavior in the wild. Our research combines field-based behavioral observations, experimental manipulations, and physiological and biochemical assays to understand how wild animals cope with ecological changes.
A key area of current research is nutritional ecology: we examine how changes in environmental conditions may affect macronutrient composition of arthropod prey and, in turn, affect the diet quality available to breeding birds. We also study how changes in nutrition may impact parental foraging decisions, provisioning behavior, and ultimately chick development and survival. Our work spans biological scales from the biochemical composition of prey to growth, survival, and reproductive effort in songbirds.
We value integrative approaches that connect field and lab work to understand the relationships between ecological context, physiological plasticity, and evolutionary processes. We actively involve undergraduate researchers at every stage—from experimental design and data collection and experimental design to data analysis and manuscript preparation.
Current Projects
- Climate-Driven Changes in Arthropod Nutrition: How do environmental conditions during development alter the macronutrient composition of arthropods as prey?
- Avian Nutrition and Breeding Success: How do shifts in prey quality affect chick development and parental care?
- Parental Allocation Strategies: How do parent birds balance investment in self-maintenance versus provisioning their young, and how does this vary with environmental conditions?
For additional information, visit the Cornell Lab Webpage.