Jennifer A. Hamel

I am an Assistant Professor at Elon University, in the Department of Biology. I teach courses on Biodiversity and Population Biology, and I mentor undergraduate students in research on the behavioral ecology and evolution of invertebrates. My three main research interests are 1) the ecology and evolution of collective behavior, 2) the influence of community on the ecology and evolution of mating decisions, and 3) variation in the functions, costs, and benefits of behavior among populations. I work with insects because they are easy to collect and rear, have short generation times, and display all the fascinating behavior one could ever wish for.

I also conduct research on teaching and learning. During my postdoctoral position in the Miller Lab at the University of Florida, I co-developed and co-instructed an undergraduate research experience course with Dr. Christine Miller and a team of talented educators. Students learned about the nature of science through readings, discussions, and presentations of primary literature, and acquired hands-on research experience by assisting with an NSF-funded research project (25 students). You can read more about this course in BioScience (63(9):754-762).