Joseph Haydock

I am interested in avian social behavior and I ask questions from an evolutionary perspective.  I use a combination of field observations, experiments in natural populations and molecular genetic techniques in the laboratory. In the past 10 years I have had over 30 students participate in research my lab. These students have had the opportunity to study the evolution of social behavior and learn the molecular genetic techniques I use in my lab.

The focus of my research is the acorn woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus), which has one of the most complex social systems among vertebrate societies. Social groups consist of up to 15 individuals, including up to seven cobreeding males and four joint-nesting females that compete for the opportunity to mate. Groups also contain non-breeding helpers from prior breeding attempts who delay dispersal. All group members defend engage in territorial defense, feeding of nestlings and collecting acorns that they store in granaries. I collaborate in my research with Walter Koenig at Cornell University and Eric Walters at Old Dominion University. Acorn woodpeckers have been under study at Hastings Natural History Reservation in central coastal California since 1971.