L. Scott JohnsonProfessor Department of Biological Sciences (410) 704-2587 (office) (410) 704-2405 (fax) |
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Education B.A., Biology, M.S., Zoology, Northern Ph.D. Ecology,
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Courses
taught at BIOL 202 – Introduction
to Ecology, Evolution and Behavior BIOL 371 – Animal
Behavior BIOL 456 – Ornithology BIOL 484 – Discussion Seminar in Ecology, Evolution, Behavior, and Conservation |
BIOL 456 student in action, during one of the
laboratories for this course. |
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Fields of Specialization: Animal Behavior, Ornithology, Behavioral Ecology Research
Interests: I am broadly
interested in the reproductive biology and behavior of birds. Over the past
15 years, I have studied a wide variety of topics including: |
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Ø
functions
of song Ø
nestling
growth and development Ø
effects
of ectoparasites on nestlings Ø
parental
care Ø
the
process of nest-leaving (fledging) Ø
adaptive
value of different egg shapes Ø
role
of calcium availability in limiting
reproductive output Ø
evolution
of plumage colouration |
Ø
criteria
that females use in
choosing mates Ø
causes
and consequences
of polygynous mating Ø
extra-pair
mating behavior Ø
manipulation
of offspring
sex ratios by females Ø
ovicide and infanticide Ø
effect of breeding at high altitudes
on life history strategies |
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I do field work during the summer in
northern Almost all my research is done in close
collaboration with students at |
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Most of my research has involved one model species, the House Wren. However, I also have worked with the Tree Swallow and recently began a series of
projects involving the Mountain Bluebird. |
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Master’s
Theses Supervised: Chaitali Dutta, 1996, Extent
of Skeletal Development at the Time of Fledging in the House Wren. Stephen Czapka, 1998, Consequences of Mate Sharing for First-mated Females
in the Polygynous House Wren Bonnie Hicks, 2001, Effects of Relative Timing of Breeding on Extra-Pair Mating
Activity in the House Wren Brian
Morrison, 2001, Response of Parent House Wrens to Ectoparasitism of their Offspring by
Hematophagous Blowfly Larvae Mike Newhouse,
2006, Reproductive success of House Wrens in Suburban and
Rural Land-use Areas Susan Balenger,
2007, The Relationship Between Male Coloration and
Paternity of Offspring in Mountain Bluebirds Anne Balogh, 2007, Survival of the Gray Catbird in Suburban
Environments |
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Potential
Research Topics (for Undergraduates and Graduate Students): ¨
Calcium
assimilation efficiency of nestling songbirds ¨
Effect
of calcium supplementation on reproductive success in songbirds ¨
Male
paternity success after usurping the mate of another male ¨
Adaptive
value of lining one’s nest with feathers ¨
Effect
food and heat-supplementation on egg size at high elevations ¨
Effect
of blood-feeding ectoparasites on red blood cell quality ¨
Effect
of nest cavity size on clutch size ¨
Relationship
between color and parental quality in bluebirds ¨
Numbers of ectoparasites in natural cavities
vs. man-made nest boxes and much, much more |
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Publications: *denotes undergraduate student collaborator #denotes
graduate student collaborator Johnson, L.S., J.L. Brubaker#, B.G.P. Johnson, & B.S.
Masters. (In press). Evidence for a maternal effect benefiting extra-pair
offspring in a Johnson, L.S.,
C.F. Thompson, S.K. Sakaluk, M. Neuhäuser, B.G.P. Johnson, S.S. Soukup#,
S.J. Forsythe#, & B.S. Masters. (In press). Extra-pair young
in house wren broods are more likely to be male than female. Proceedings
of the Royal Society of Masters, B.S., B.G.P. Johnson, C.J. Neely*, K.L.
Williams*, & L.S. Johnson. (In press) “Compatible alleles” and
extra-pair paternity: conclusions depend on the microsatellite loci used. The Condor (Journal of the Cooper
Ornithological Society) Balenger, S.L.#,
L.S. Johnson, H. Mays, B.S. Masters. (In press). Extra-pair paternity in the socially monogamous mountain
bluebird (Sialia currucoides) and
its effect on the potential for sexual selection. Journal
of Avian Biology.
Balenger, S.L., L.S.
Johnson, and B.S. Masters. 2009. Sexual selection in a socially monogamous
bird: male color predicts paternity success in the mountain bluebird, Sialia currucoides. Behavioral
Ecology and Sociobiology 63: 403-411. Johnson, L.S., J.L.
Brubaker*, and B.G.P. Johnson. 2008. How
males in the house wren, a cavity-nesting songbird, discover that eggs have
hatched and transition to provisioning nestlings. Behaviour 145: 781-1796.
Forsman, A.M., Newhouse, M.J.#, P.P. Marra, and L.S. Johnson. 2008. Reproductive success of house wrens in suburban and rural landscapes. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 120:99-104. Balenger#,
S.L., Johnson, L.S., *Brubaker, J. and *Ostlind, E. 2007.
Parental
effort in relation to structural plumage coloration in the mountain bluebird
(Sialia currucoides). Ethology 113: 838-846.
Johnson, L.S.,
J.L. Brubaker*, S.L. Balenger#, and Shawkey, M., S.
Balenger#,
G. Hill, L.S. Johnson, A. Keyser, L. Seifferman. 2006. Mechanisms of change in structural plumage colouration
among bluebirds (Sialia spp.). Journal of the Royal Society
Interface 3: 527-532. Johnson, L. S., L. E. Wimmers, B. G. Johnson,
R. Molinaro*, R. C. Milkie*, B. S. Gallagher* and B. S. Masters,. 2005. Sex
manipulation within broods of house wrens: a second look. Animal Behaviour 70: 1323-1329. Masters, B.S., B.G. Hicks#, L.S.
Johnson, and Johnson,
L.S., L. E. Wimmers,
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