One of my favorite parts of the program this summer has been hearing about the work that so many renown scientists are doing here at Duke. It has been really wonderful getting personable insight into the biological field of research, stories of unique paths into research, and advice for those of us just starting out. I have been able to take away so many words of wisdom and cool stories from every talk, so I want to thank the faculty for their time and willingness to share their stories with us.
A presentation that really interested me was by Dr. Steve Nowicki who talked to us about categorical perception and the evolution of animal signals, focusing in on birds. I feel like as humans, we are so consumed by our own perception and how we view the world that we forget all organisms on the planet perceive the world in their own special way. He talked about how female birds while choosing mates categorically sort out information that is relevant to the fitness of the male birds. It was also really interesting to me how a single note change in song or a slight discoloration in the beak could be consequence of a long combination of environmental stressors and genes that would ultimately affect female choice.
This talk was really interesting to me because the topic intersects a lot of things I enjoyed learning about in class, like sexual dimorphisms and sexual selection in biology and perception and attention in neuroscience. This really unique research shows me how you can find your own niche in biological research and ask questions only you would think to ask, while investigating something you really enjoy. I’m looking forward to learning more from professors in the biology department about their research.