Honors Link

As long as I can remember, I knew my future was anchored to the biological sciences, but I could never pinpoint my niche. This instantly changed in the spring of 2011 when I took an ornithology class. I was immediately captivated by the study of birds. I found the intelligence and coordination displayed by the most inconspicuous of avian species so remarkable that I knew I’d found my future career.

This summer I had an opportunity to take on a research internship under Dr. Jim Rivers within the Department of Forest Ecosystems & Societies working on his study of Tachycineta swallows. Beginning in spring term, I monitored the changing state of nests and the competition between swallows for nest materials and food. I participated in testing the hypothesis that coexisting species differ in their aggressive behaviors by quantifying the reaction of nesting females to a simulated territorial intrusion of a competitor of the same or different species. Results from this study will provide information on the role of aggression in partitioning nest resources between the two species and the role it plays in the fitness of their offspring.

I could not have imagined a more rewarding way to spend a summer than waking with the early sunshine and mountain biking six miles through the Bald Hill natural area to the project’s field sites. This was a feat made possible by the Honors College, as the Honors Experience Scholarship I received was one of my only methods of financing my summer stay in Corvallis to participate in this research.