Our research uses movement ecology as a framework to understand how individuals and populations respond to changes in their environment in order to project how future change may alter a population’s dynamics and evolutionary trajectory. ​
Our Philosophy
​The natural world knows no political boundaries. That means that we are all stakeholders in the conservation of our biodiversity and our lab welcomes the involvement of anyone and everyone, no matter where they come from or how they identify themselves. We are also working to overcome our own biases, as well as those that have long prevailed in the scientific and conservation communities, by learning from and engaging with the communities whose lives intersect with the species we study.

Breaking News

  • How young individuals develop their migratory routines is one of the great mysteries in migration ecology. Mo Verhoeven's new paper in the Journal of Animal Ecology demonstrates that, in Black-tailed Godwits, young birds exhibit different migratory timing and routes than adults. Intriguingly, though, there does not appear to be selection against these distinct behaviors and, so, individuals must be able to change their migratory patterns later in life via developmental plasticity. 
  • The weekly television show, CBS Sunday Morning, made the 'Discovery at Deveaux' its lead story yesterday! So much hard work went into making this happen by Maina Handmaker and collaborators Andy Johnson from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Felicia Sanders from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, not to mention the CBS crew. Take a look and stay tuned for more on this project very soon!
  • Huge congrats to Jenny Linscott on winning the inaugural Wesley Lanyon Award from the American Ornithological Society for her paper, "Beyond refueling: Investigating the diversity of functions of migratory stopover events" in Ornithological Applications. Stay tuned for much more from Jenny in the coming years about Hudsonian Godwits and their migratory behavior. ​
senner at mailbox.sc.edu
Department of Biological Sciences
University of South Carolina​
Coker Life Sciences 406
Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.A.

Want to make a donation to graduate student research in the lab? Go here and search for "Migratory Shorebird Research Fund".