Shana Caro | Faculty Profiles | Adelphi University

Diplomas/Degrees

DPhil, University of Oxford (2017)

BA, Harvard University (2007)

Professional Experience

Stengl-Wyer Scholar, The University of Texas at Austin (2020-2022)

Simons Junior Fellow, Columbia University (2017-2020)

Postdoc, Wageningen University (NL, 2017)

Personal Statement

I am an evolutionary biologist interested in social behavior – particularly in how signaling systems evolve when there are evolutionary conflicts of interest between signalers and receivers. Using parent-offspring signaling in birds (begging) as a framework, I investigate how ecology and life history traits affect communication both across and within species. I am also interested in the neural mechanisms governing social behavior, maternal investment in eggs, and maternal/paternal effects on offspring behavior.

Recent Courses

Animal Behavior

Biological Concepts And Methods I I (lab)

Biological Concepts And Methods 1 ( Lab )

Courses Previously Taught

Fall 2022: Biological Concepts and Methods 1 (Lab)

Research Interests

Research areas: animal behavior, behavioral ecology, commuincation, parental care.

I study social behavior in birds, focusing on how nestling birds beg for food and how parents invest in offspring. I look at how evolutionary coflicts between parents and offspring, between siblings, and between males and females shape social behavior and other traits. My lab uses a combination of empirical, comparative and theoretical approaches.

Future work will focus on how patterns of environmental unpredictability and variability impact social behavior via the brain, and how mothers invest in offspring pre-natally.

Masters students and undergraduates who are interested in joining my lab should email me at SCaro@adelphi.edu.

International Experience

I did my DPhil at the University of Oxford in the UK, from 2013 to 2017.

I have conducted research on superb starlings in Kenya (2018-2019), great tits in The Netherlands (2017), white-faced capuchin monkeys in Costa Rica (2012), and chimpanzees in Uganda (2010).

Articles

Levin, S. R., Caro, S. M., Griffin, A. S. & West, S. A. 2019. Honest signaling and the double counting of inclusive fitness. Evolution Letters 3, 428-433, doi: 10.1002-evl3.138

Wild, G.,* Caro, S. M.*, & West, S. A. 2017. Signaling about information that is neither cryptic nor private. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 30, 806-813, doi: 10.1111-jeb.13049

*Joint first authors

Caro, S. M., West, S. A. & Griffin, A. S. 2016. Sibling conflict and dishonest signalling in birds. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 113, 13803–13808, doi: 10.1073-pnas.1606378113

Caro, S. M., Griffin, A. S., Hinde, C. A. & West, S. A. 2016. Unpredictable environments lead to the evolution of parental neglect in birds. Nature Communications 7, 1–10, doi:10.1038-ncomms10985