Welcome to the [Kelley] Behavioral Complexity Lab at the University of Wyoming. We are very broadly interested in how environments shape individual behavior and how these behaviors impact vulnerability to selective agents (such as climate or predation). Focusing mainly on tropical birds in Panama and Hawaii (but branching out into other taxa too), our research integrates intensive field-based studies of multiple taxa, quantitative behavioral analysis (especially bioacoustics), physiology (primarily stress hormones), artificial intelligence, and traditional ecological modeling to explore the interplay between natural selection and complex phenotypes. To this end, we explore novel ways to detect and measure complex behaviors that form the basis of fundamental ecological phenomena such as competition and predation.
Contact Dr. Kelley (lab head): jkelle24 [at] uwyo.edu
PANAMA PLUMAS PROJECT
The Panama PLUMAS Project studies how land-use and precipitation impact tropical birds.

Panama PLUMAS
The Panama PLUMAS (Precipitation and Land-Use in Multiple Avian Species) Project studies bird communities inhabiting 24 forest plot across the
HAWAII VINE PROJECT
This project explores the interactions between introduced frugivores and native/non-native fruiting plant species.

Hawaii VINE Project
Since 2014, the Hawaii VINE (Vertebrate Introductions in Novel Ecosytems) Project has been exploring how native ecosystems on in Hawaii

Predator-driven behavior in tropical birds
How does extreme predation risk impact antipredator behavior in birds? Variation in predation risk can drive plastic and evolved behaviors