Jill Mateo | Committee on Evolutionary Biology

Research Summary

We study the developmental and biological mechanisms of adaptive behaviors that enhance survival and reproduction in species-typical environments. In particular, we investigate the reciprocal interactions among social, hormonal and genetic processes and how they differentially affect behavior depending on ecological and social contexts. We use comparative approaches in the field, in the lab and in other settings, studying human and non-human primates, other mammals (e.g. lions, dolphins, and ground-dwelling squirrels) and birds.

Biosciences Graduate Program Association

Committee on Evolutionary Biology

Publications

Parental habituation to human disturbance over time reduces fear of humans in coyote offspring. Ecol Evol. 2018 Dec; 8(24):12965-12980. View in: PubMed
Investigation of techniques to measure cortisol and testosterone concentrations in coyote hair. Zoo Biol. 2017 May; 36(3):220-225. View in: PubMed
The ontogeny of kin-recognition mechanisms in Belding's ground squirrels. Physiol Behav. 2017 05 01; 173:279-284. View in: PubMed
Olfactory attractants and parity affect prenatal androgens and territoriality of coyote breeding pairs. Physiol Behav. 2016 10 15; 165:43-54. View in: PubMed
Within-individual correlations reveal link between a behavioral syndrome, condition and cortisol in free-ranging Belding's ground squirrels. Ethology. 2015 Feb; 121(2):125-134. View in: PubMed
Development, maternal effects, and behavioral plasticity. Integr Comp Biol. 2014 Nov; 54(5):841-9. View in: PubMed
Chronically raised glucocorticoids reduce innate immune function in Belding's ground squirrels (Urocitellus beldingi) after an immune challenge. Gen Comp Endocrinol. 2013 Nov 01; 193:149-57. View in: PubMed
Odor-based recognition of familiar and related conspecifics: a first test conducted on captive Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti). PLoS One. 2011; 6(9):e25002. View in: PubMed
Choke or thrive? The relation between salivary cortisol and math performance depends on individual differences in working memory and math-anxiety. Emotion. 2011 Aug; 11(4):1000-5. View in: PubMed
Toward an integrative understanding of social behavior: new models and new opportunities. Front Behav Neurosci. 2010; 4:34. View in: PubMed
How habitat features shape ground squirrel (Urocitellus beldingi) navigation. J Comp Psychol. 2010 May; 124(2):176-86. View in: PubMed
Ecological and hormonal correlates of antipredator behavior in adult Belding's ground squirrels (Spermophilus beldingi). Behav Ecol Sociobiol. 2007 Nov 01; 62(1):37-49. View in: PubMed
Alarm calls elicit predator-specific physiological responses. Biol Lett. 2010 Oct 23; 6(5):623-5. View in: PubMed
Inverted-U shape relationship between cortisol and learning in ground squirrels. Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2008 May; 89(4):582-90. View in: PubMed
Rats assess degree of relatedness from human odors. Physiol Behav. 2007 Apr 23; 90(5):726-32. View in: PubMed
Development of individually distinct recognition cues. Dev Psychobiol. 2006 Nov; 48(7):508-19. View in: PubMed
Developmental and geographic variation in stress hormones in wild Belding's ground squirrels (Spermophilus beldingi). Horm Behav. 2006 Dec; 50(5):718-25. View in: PubMed
A validation of extraction methods for noninvasive sampling of glucocorticoids in free-living ground squirrels. Physiol Biochem Zool. 2005 Nov-Dec; 78(6):1069-84. View in: PubMed
Kin recognition by self-referent phenotype matching: weighing the evidence. Anim Cogn. 2003 Mar; 6(1):73-6. View in: PubMed
Kin-recognition abilities and nepotism as a function of sociality. Proc Biol Sci. 2002 Apr 07; 269(1492):721-7. View in: PubMed
Kin recognition and the 'armpit effect': evidence of self-referent phenotype matching. Proc Biol Sci. 2000 Apr 07; 267(1444):695-700. View in: PubMed
Early auditory experience and the ontogeny of alarm-call discrimination in Belding's ground squirrels (Spermophilus beldingi). J Comp Psychol. 1996 Jun; 110(2):115-24. View in: PubMed