UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #473

Submission information
Submission Number: 473
Submission ID: 8636
Submission UUID: 64953ff0-59b7-44c5-9b5e-47ae1aeb5980

Created: Thu, 08/17/2023 - 04:12 PM
Completed: Thu, 08/17/2023 - 04:38 PM
Changed: Tue, 09/26/2023 - 01:14 PM

Remote IP address: 128.186.178.173
Submitted by: Anonymous
Language: English

Is draft: No

Research Mentor Information

Emily DuVal
she/her
ehduval@bio.fsu.edu
ehduval@bio.fsu.edu
Faculty
Arts and Sciences
Florida State University
DuVal in the field.jpg

Additional Research Mentor(s)

Daniel Gutierrez
he/him
Mr.
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Overall Project Details

Sexual selection in the lance-tailed manakin - using machine learning to analyze display variation
birds; behavior; video analysis; machine learning
No
1
computer science, computational biology, statistics, biology, other majors considered
On FSU Main Campus
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In-person
6
During business hours
This project investigates variation in display behavior of a small tropical bird, the lance-tailed manakin. In this species and many others, males perform conspicuous courtship displays for females. These displays can involve extreme acrobatic feats, change over time or in response to female behavior, and play an important role in reproductive success. How males perform courtship has an immediate effect on whether they get the chance to pass on their genes to a future generation. During this project, a team of two UROP students will work together with Dr. DuVal to assess the suitability of machine learning programs to analyze and compare display performance (1) among males and (2) within the same male over time.
Students will take part in guided reading of the primary literature, self-guided training on how to use pre-coded machine learning programs like Deep Lab Cut, literature searches to identify other useful programs, and tests of program accuracy. They will collect and analyze data focused on one discrete question (of the many we will discuss) and create a poster explaining their findings. Finally, they will generate a written or video-recorded tutorial to help others effectively applying the protocol they identify as best for addressing their chosen question.
Recommended: MS Access, experience with video editing software (we use Sony MovieStudio), programming experience (not essential, but Python may help)
Required: curiosity, interest in animal behavior and computational approaches to understanding behavioral variation, self-motivation, reliability
Open communciation is at the heart of my mentoring philosophy. I work with my mentees to customize their research experience to help them achieve their long-term goals, as well as the short-term aims of performing a specific analysis or processing a given piece of data. When something isn't working, I expect that we will discuss and work through it together. All members of my lab, including undergraduates, take full part in weekly lab meetings where we read and disucss articles from the primary literature. All lab members are expect to interact collaboratively, respectfully, and considerately so that we all benefit from the diverse perspectives and experiences that we bring to the table. I expect to learn from you, just as you should expect to learn from me.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/cams/lance-tailed-manakins/
https://www.bio.fsu.edu/duval/Publications.html
https://www.bio.fsu.edu/duval/index.html
Video summary of the project and advising plan: https://youtu.be/QmkdHtfTUcU

UROP Program Elements

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
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2023
https://cre.fsu.edu/urop-research-mentor-project-submission-portal?element_parents=elements/research_mentor_information/headshot_optional_&ajax_form=1&_wrapper_format=drupal_ajax&token=eSmNCg3JeYPkZ2yea3ubw4Y4sqv0ZoxA9bGfzjuC8s4