Brian Hoover
.
Background
I received a B.S. in Zoology from Colorado State University, and spent
a subsequent 3-year stint as a neurophysiology technician at UCLA and
Chapman University. Much of my undergraduate and extended technician
research focused on the neural mechanisms underlying memory formation-
particularly associative conditioning- in opisthobranch molluscs. I
was fortunate to join the Vertebrate Ecology lab at Moss Landing in
Fall 2006, and am currently pursuing a thesis topic concerning intertidal
shorebird foraging ecology..
Research
I am interested in the behavioral choices a foraging predator faces,
when confronted with temporally and spatially patchy prey resources.
Furthermore, I am especially intrigued by the co-evolutionary selection
forces which are enacted in a predator/prey system, and how these forces
are modulated over time by evolving predatory and anti-predator behaviors.
I believe shorebirds to be particularly fruitful research templates,
as:
-
They forage in areas where prey abundance is not only seasonally and spatially patchy, but there exist further small-scale time constraints due to tidal movements. So shorebirds are faced with a complex mix of foraging scenarios.
-
Although ephemeral, these prey patches are much more static and accesible than, for example, open ocean prey patches. Therefore, intertidal prey patches are easier to quantify and incorporate into foraging models.
-
Many shorebirds have specialized morphology allowing them to exploit a specific range of prey items. In certain cases, this may exert a selective pressure on the prey population, selecting for future generations which are better able to resist/escape predation. This fuels the predator/prey coevolution equilibrium I'm most interested in.
I'm
currently interested in a potential thesis project
concerning Black Oystercatcher foraging ecology,
examining both the predator behavioral array
(territoriality, capture techniques, chick instruction),
and the prey behavioral array (avoidance,
aggregating, detection), which define this predator
prey system.
Other interests include coordinating Moss Landing soccer matches, harrassing
my labmates, and finding out which of two critters would eat the other
when put into a common jar. 
Brian Hoover
Vertebrate Ecology Laboratory
(831) 771-4422
Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
8272 Moss Landing Road
Moss Landing, CA 95039
Maintained by: Brian Hoover
Office of the Webmaster
Comments: webmaster@mlml.calstate.edu
Last revision: July 3, 2007
URL, this page: http://www.mlml.calstate.edu/groups/bird_mam/bhoover.htm