Animal Behavior Society

Animal Behavior Society
Name	Animal Behavior Society
Founded	1949
Headquarters	Stillwater, Oklahoma
Type	Scientific society
Region served	International
Fields	Ethology, Behavioral Ecology, Comparative Psychology

Animal Behavior Society is a professional organization dedicated to the scientific study of behavior in animals. It brings together researchers, educators, and students from fields such as Ethology, Behavioral ecology, Comparative psychology, Neuroethology, and Conservation biology to promote research, training, and communication. The Society plays a central role in connecting work presented at venues like the International Congress of Zoology, collaborations with institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution and funding bodies like the National Science Foundation.

History

The Society was founded in 1949 amid post‑World War II expansions in biological research, alongside developments at universities including Harvard University, University of Cambridge, and the University of California, Berkeley. Early leaders included scholars connected to programs at Columbia University, Cornell University, and the University of Chicago, fostering cross‑Atlantic links with researchers at the Max Planck Society and the Royal Society. Its evolution paralleled landmark studies by figures affiliated with Tinbergen's four questions, research traditions emerging from the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and methodological advances from laboratories at Princeton University and Yale University.

Mission and Objectives

The Society’s mission emphasizes rigorous, comparative research on animal behavior, training of future scientists, and the application of behavioral knowledge to conservation issues. Objectives align with curricula at institutions such as University of Oxford, University of Michigan, and Stanford University to support undergraduate and graduate education, to facilitate interdisciplinary links with PLOS Biology authors and editors, and to engage with policy arenas exemplified by interactions with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and international bodies like the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Membership and Governance

Membership encompasses students, postdoctoral researchers, faculty, and professionals from organizations such as the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, World Wildlife Fund, and museums like the American Museum of Natural History. Governance is conducted via elected officers and committees, modeled on governance structures seen at the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Ecological Society of America, with bylaws and elections run in coordination with administrative partners at universities including Oklahoma State University.

Meetings, Conferences, and Publications

Annual meetings attract delegates presenting empirical work alongside symposia and workshops; sessions often intersect with programs at the Society for Neuroscience and the International Society for Behavioral Ecology. The Society publishes proceedings and supports journals and edited volumes similar to titles from Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press. Conferences feature keynote speakers from institutions such as Rutgers University, University of Toronto, and Johns Hopkins University, and satellite meetings have partnered with organizations like the British Ecological Society and the European Society for Evolutionary Biology.

Research and Educational Programs

Research initiatives supported or promoted by the Society span field studies on species investigated at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, laboratory experiments influenced by work at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, and comparative analyses using datasets curated by repositories such as the Dryad Digital Repository. Educational programs include training workshops similar to those at the Carnegie Institution for Science and summer courses modeled after offerings at Mote Marine Laboratory, with mentorship schemes linked to graduate programs at University of Wisconsin–Madison and University of Florida.

Awards and Grants

The Society administers awards and grants recognizing outstanding contributions, early‑career excellence, and student research, analogous to honors from the MacArthur Foundation and prizes administered by the National Academy of Sciences. Recipients often hold positions at universities such as Duke University, University of British Columbia, Arizona State University, and research institutes like the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Grant programs facilitate fieldwork in locations including the Galápagos Islands, the African Rift Valley, and the Amazon rainforest.

Outreach and Conservation Initiatives

Outreach efforts connect with public institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution, the World Wildlife Fund, and botanical gardens like the New York Botanical Garden to translate behavioral research into conservation practice. Initiatives collaborate with wildlife agencies including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and international NGOs active in regions such as the Coral Triangle and the Congo Basin, aiming to inform management of species monitored by programs like the IUCN Red List and to contribute to educational exhibits in museums such as the Natural History Museum, London.

Category:Scientific societies Category:Behavioural ecology Category:Ethology