Welcome!
Research in my laboratory focuses on mammalian behavioral development and its physiological substrates. My students and I are currently investigating how social, ecological, and endocrine variables interact during an individual's early development to influence its subsequent behavior and its reproductive success as an adult.
News
Kay interviewed for the VSI podcast
02/28/12
Kay's is interviewed for episodes #32 and #33 of the variationselectioninheritance (VSI) podcast, a podcast about science funded by the NSF BEACON Center.
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Alumna Jenn Smith an MSU "featured Fellow"
02/03/12
Former PhD student Jenn Smith was a fellow of the MSU graduate school while she was here. The grad school has profiled here and mentioned here as a "featured fellow" on the MSU "support for students" blog:
Support For Students Feature on Jenn
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The AAAS posted a photo gallery from the lab
12/06/11
Kay blogs for the New York Times
07/01/11
Kay Holekamp was invited to write blog posts to the New York Times "Scientist At Work" series.
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BBC features Kate Shaw's photos, new publication by Jenn Smith
02/02/10
BBC News featured research by 2010 PhD Jennifer Smith, Kay Holekamp, and others regarding their work on spotted hyenas joining forces to cooperatively form a coalition. The article, published in the journal Behavioral Ecology, explains how these animals follow a surprisingly complex set of rules when making decisions about cooperation and how doing so provides them with an evolutionary advantage.
See images by doctoral candidate Kate Shaw in the BBC photo essay:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8485653.stm
Smith, et al, article in Behavioral Ecology:
Evolutionary forces favoring intragroup coalitions among spotted hyenas and other animals
Mini documentary of our field research via BBC
01/01/10
BBC came to the Mara and produced the following short film about our research and hyenas. It aired in 2008 as part of the BBC's "Big Cat" series.
The above video requires Adobe Flash
For this and other videos about Lions, Hyenas and other wildlife in the Masai Mara, visit the BBC Big Cat series video archive http://www.bbc.co.uk/bigcat/video/Dr. Holekamp named University Distinguished Professor
07/09/09
http://news.msu.edu/staff-faculty/story/6539/
The title of University Distinguished Professor (UDP) recognizes outstanding achievement in teaching, research, and public service.
LINK:
Learn All About Hyenas from the IUCN Hyena family conservation website, sponsored and maintained by our lab.
Kay E. Holekamp
Professor, Department of Zoology,
Program in Ecology, Evolution, Biology & Behavior (EEBB),
Michigan State University
B.A. Smith College, Northampton,MA
Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, CA
Mailing Address
303 Natural Science Building
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1115
Office Phone: (517) 432-3691
Laboratory Phone: (517) 353-3771
Department Fax: (517) 432-278
WRITINGS
Scientist At Work
Field Notes from Kenya
Research Supported by
