Dr. Laurie S. Eberhardt

Associate Professor of Biology

laurie.eberhardt@valpo.edu

Education

B.S - Earlham College 1985
M.A - University of Florida 1990
Phd - University of Florida 1994

Research Interests

Ecological Studies
Laurie Eberhardt studies the behavior and ecology of woodpeckers, especially sap feeding behavior. Sap feeding poses intriguing problems because the birds must overcome a tree's defenses and also may experience nutritional limitations to feed on sap. Recent student projects in her lab group have included studies on tree species preference, variations in sucrose content and flow rate of sap, changes in sap feeding behavior with weather conditions, and microscopic examination of sap hole structure.

Publications

• Use and selection of sap trees by yellow-bellied sapsuckers., The Auk 117 (1): 41-51., 2000 
• A test of an environmental advertisement hypothesis for the function of drumming in yellow-bellied sapsuckers., Condor 99: 798-803., 1997 
• Energy expenditure during singing: A reply to Gaunt et al, The Auk 113 (3): 721-723., 1996