The Branch Lab

Welcome to The Branch Lab!

Research in The Branch Lab aims to understand how environmental variation shapes behavior, particularly in avian systems. We are interested in how communication signals evolve to convey information.

Along with talented collaborators, we investigate cognitive variation associated with environmental heterogeneity and the contribution of female mating choices to maintaining cognitive adaptation. See Research tab for more in-depth information about ongoing projects!

Taking birds out of a mistnet – an effective way to trap birds without harming them. Left to right: Vladimir Pravosudov, Carrie Branch

The mountain chickadee team banding chicks during the breeding season. Left to right: Carrie Branch, Lauren Benedict, Ben Sonnenberg

Carrie Branch with the elusive mountain chickadee

Spectrogram showing the whistle song of mountain chickadees. A lot of information can be gathered from this rather simple song.

From Living Bird Magazine feature: *Harsh mountain winters made chickadees smarter*, Winter 2023. Illustration by Jillian Ditner

The Branch Lab is housed at The University of Western Ontario and part of the Advanced Facility for Avian Research and Center for Animals on the Move.

Advanced Facility for Avian Research at the University of Western Ontario

Researchers at the Advanced Facility for Avian Research work on everything birds – from migratory physiology (Dr. Chris Guglielmo) to hormones and the brain (Dr. Scott MacDougall-Shackleton), to communication and cognition (Dr. Carrie Branch), and much more. We’re very fortunate to have a wide set of expertise in the building! Photo credit: Scott MacDougall-Shackleton, 2023

Does this work sound interesting? Highly motivated prospective graduate students should contact Carrie Branch via email at cbranch6 at uwo.ca. Students working in the Branch Lab can study in Department of Psychology or Biology.

Folks interested in postdoctoral work in the Branch Lab have several options, including applying for fellowships via tri-council agencies and Western – See more information here and contact Carrie Branch with intertest!