Dr. Andrew Roberts -- Ohio State University -- Deptartment of EEOB

Picture coming soon...

J. Andrew Roberts, Ph.D.
My main research interests are in the evolution of animal communication and social behavior. My research is highly integrative, incorporating techniques from many disciplines to address interesting questions about the evolution of animal signals, sexual selection and mate choice, and group formation and social behavior. At present, much of my research concerns constraints on the evolution of signals and signaling behavior using an invertebrate model system, the brush-legged wolf spider, Schizocosa ocreata.
Graduate Students

Scott Kimball
Scott Kimball is a PhD candidate who joined the lab in 2005 and will be graduating in 2009. He is co-advised by the recently retired Thomas Grubb. Scott is working on mating system dynamics of Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Swallows at Dawes Arboretum in Licking County, Ohio.

Samantha Herrmann
Samantha will be joining the lab as a PhD student in Autumn 2008. She is a recent graduate of Miami University in Oxford, OH, and is interested in conservation and behavioral ecology.

Meghan Rector
Meghan is a PhD student who joined the lab in Autumn 2006. She is working on silk biomechanics and group formation in the cave orb-weaving spider, Meta ovalis.
Undergraduate Students

Burt Angle
Burt began volunteering in the Roberts Lab in 2007 and has worked as an intern since January 2008. He is interested in digital imaging and image analysis and has been working on an independent research project involving the wolf spider, Schizocosa ocreata. He is scanning males from multiple studies into digital files for later measurement and analysis.
Collaborators and Colleagues

David Clark, Ph.D. - Alma College, USA
My research interests are in animal communication and the evolution of visual displays.
Karen Goodell, Ph.D. - The Ohio State University at Newark, USA
My research centers on the population and community ecology of bees, their plant hosts, and their insect parasites. I use observations and field experiments, as well as enclosure experiments, to examine how the demographic rates and community composition of bees is influenced by the abundance and composition of floral resources and parasites.
Phil Taylor, Ph.D. - Macquarie University, Australia
I am primarily interested in the ways by which animals are adapted to make the most of their interactions with others, especially during courtship and contests. In particular, my research has considered the related processes of assessment, communication and decision-making in these contexts. Most of my empirical research has involved jumping spiders and insects (especially tephritid flies).
George Uetz, Ph.D. - University of Cincinnati, USA
The major focus of my research is the behavioral ecology of spiders, whose small size, short life span, and behavioral diversity make them excellent model systems for intensive study. I am interested in the selective forces shaping the evolution of social behavior, and use both field-based observational studies and laboratory experimentation.
Sean Walker, Ph.D. - California State University, Fullerton
My main research interests are in the evolution of sexual dimorphism, sexual selection, and life-history evolution. In my research, I utilize a number of different approaches and techniques (e.g. comparative methods, functional morphology, observation and experimentation, as well as some modeling) to try and ask interesting questions about the evolution and/or current fitness costs and benefits of a particular trait or strategy.
Lab Visitors and Alumni
Kelly Roberts
The worlds greatest field-hand! Kelly is a therapist by training, but is deeply fascinated by the behavior of animals and has been know to spend hours following a single spider through the leaf litter, video camera in hand. She can currently be found at Ohio University working on her PhD.
Julee Johns, University of Cincinnati, USA
I plan to research the frequency of coercive mating in the brush-legged wolf spider, Schizocosa ocreata. With my research, I hope to investigate the mechanisms involved in coercive mating, the potential costs to females and the benefits to males that this type of "alternative mating strategy" may impart. My interests include: sexual selection, multimodal communication, arachnology, behavioral ecology, and evolution.
Issac Kelly - the Ohio State University, USA
Issac was the original Web Developer for the Roberts Lab. Currently he is an electrical computer engineering student at OSU Columbus. He is the owner of threefound.com, his web development company. Have a look at his website if you have a few minutes.
Jonny Lippincott
Jonny is a musician currently living in Cincinnati. He worked in the Roberts Lab from June 2005 until June 2006, but still stops by on occasion. He is fascinated by spiders and the application of digital media in behavioral research, and honestly, we're pretty sure the spiders are just as interested in him...
Jenai Milliser, University of Cincinnati, USA
I am currently investigating how different types of juvenile social experiences influence adult mating preferences in the two sibling wolf spider species Schizocosa ocreata and S. rovneri. I am interested in sexual selection, multimodal communication, arachnology, behavioral ecology and evolution.
Rosanna Vaccaro
Rosanna began in the Roberts Lab in April 2006 and graduated in June 2008. She made an important discovery while on the OSUN Campus - a large population of a wolf spider species (Schizocosa bilineata) in which the males have leg tufts much like those of Schizocosa ocreata (see picture above) but for which no one has yet described the behavior. Rosanna has completely characterized the behavior of males of this species and a manuscript is forthcoming.
Mascot
Maggie Roberts
Maggie is a frequent visitor at the Baker Lab, usually on weekends and late at night. Coincidentally, she will gladly join in on any research trip but she tends to eat the subjects when nobody is watching...