Mark Erno Hauber is an American ornithologist and Endowed Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His research considers the development of avian recognition systems.

Mark Erno Hauber
Alma materUniversity of Auckland
Yale College
Cornell University
Victoria University of Wellington
Scientific career
ThesisCognitive challenges for brood-parasitic cowbirds : species recognition and host discrimination (2002)
WebsiteCowbird Lab

Early life and education edit

Hauber was born and raised in Hungary.[1] He has said that he always wanted to become an ornithologist.[1] He attended high school in Italy, before moving to the United States for college. Hauber was an undergraduate student at Yale College, where he majored in organismal biology.[2] He started focusing on birds, and the differences between the brains of different species.[1] He worked toward his doctorate at the Cornell University, where he studied brood parasitic cowbirds.[3] After graduating, Hauber moved to the University of California, Berkeley as a postdoctoral research fellow.[citation needed]

Research and career edit

In 2003, Hauber moved to New Zealand, where he joined the faculty at the University of Auckland. Whilst in New Zealand, he studied psychology, and earned a Doctor of Science on avian recognition systems.[4] His doctoral thesis for this degree was entitled Cognitive ecology of avian recognition systems : studies of brood parasitic and parental taxa.[5] He returned to the United States in 2009, where he joined the faculty at Graduate Center of the City University of New York.[6] Here he oversaw the biopsychology and behavioural neuroscience program.[6]

Hauber was appointed to the faculty at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2017. He established the Cowbird Laboratory, which investigates the evolution of recognition systems.[7] For example, Hauber has studied the color and shape of eggs that "host" birds will accept in their nests.[8][9] He has shown that pointy eggs are more likely to survive being in a bird's cliffside nest.[citation needed] Hauber focused his research on parasitic birds and the impact of climate change.[10] He showed that in unstable climates, distributing eggs amongst a variety of different nests made a species more resilient.[10] Hauber studies the birds that live in tree farms in East Urbana, Illinois.[1]

Selected publications edit

  • Joanna K Hubbard; J. Albert C. Uy; Mark E Hauber; Hopi Hoekstra; Rebecca J Safran (8 April 2010). "Vertebrate pigmentation: from underlying genes to adaptive function". Trends in Genetics. 26 (5): 231–239. doi:10.1016/J.TIG.2010.02.002. ISSN 0168-9525. PMID 20381892. Wikidata Q37728546.
  • Kevin J McGraw; Emiko A Mackillop; James Dale; Mark E Hauber (1 December 2002). "Different colors reveal different information: how nutritional stress affects the expression of melanin- and structurally based ornamental plumage". The Journal of Experimental Biology. 205 (Pt 23): 3747–3755. ISSN 0022-0949. PMID 12409501. Wikidata Q48616134.
  • Hauber ME; Sherman PW (1 October 2001). "Self-referent phenotype matching: theoretical considerations and empirical evidence". Trends in Neurosciences. 24 (10): 609–616. doi:10.1016/S0166-2236(00)01916-0. ISSN 0166-2236. PMID 11576676. Wikidata Q34384297.

Books edit

Personal life edit

Hauber came out as gay after moving to the United States.[11] He is a member of the grassroots organization 500 Queer Scientists.[11]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "Bird Brain Person/Songbird Person/Cowbird Guy, Mark Hauber | Neuroscience Program at Illinois". neuroscience.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  2. ^ "Mark E Hauber | School of Integrative Biology | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign". sib.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  3. ^ Hauber, Mark Erno (2002). Cognitive challenges for brood-parasitic cowbirds: species recognition and host discrimination (Thesis). OCLC 51901171.
  4. ^ Hauber, Mark E (2009). Cognitive ecology of avian recognition systems: studies of brood parasitic and parental taxa (Thesis). OCLC 636860136.
  5. ^ Hauber, Mark E. (2009), Cognitive ecology of avian recognition systems : studies of brood parasitic and parental taxa, ResearchSpace@Auckland, hdl:2292/51160, Wikidata Q111963809
  6. ^ a b "Lab Members". Hauber Lab Website. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  7. ^ Evensen, Dave (2019-04-22). "Taking bird research to new heights". College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at Illinois. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  8. ^ Greenwood, Veronique (2021-01-29). "How an Eight-Sided 'Egg' Ended Up in a Robin's Nest". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  9. ^ Yates, Diana. "Team cracks eggs for science". news.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  10. ^ a b "Avian Brood Parasites Are About to Have Their Adaptability Tested". Audubon. 2021-06-28. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  11. ^ a b "Mark E. Hauber". 500 Queer Scientists. Retrieved 2021-07-10.