Biology

Biology 120 Organismal Biology
Biology 220 Ecology and Evolution
Biology 389 Evolution
Biology 344 Animal Behavior
First-Year Studies 114 Evolution, Adaptation and the Origin of Species
First-Year Studies 177 Biological Evolution of Humans 

Department of Biology, Lake Forest College, Foster G. and Mary W. McGaw Professor of Life Sciences, 2007-present.

Department of Biology, Lake Forest College, Professor, 2006-present.

Department of Biology, Lake Forest College, Associate Professor, 2000-2005.

Chair, Department of Biology, Lake Forest College, 2001-2002, 2003-2005.

Department of Biology, Lake Forest College, Assistant Professor, 1992-2000.

Department of Biological Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, assistant research biologist, 1990-1992.

Department of Biology, Princeton University, visiting fellow, and Department of Biological Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, post-doctoral research associate, 1987-1990.

Department of Animal Science, University of Maryland, teaching assistant, biostatistics, 1986.

Department of Zoology, University of Maryland, teaching assistant, marine vertebrate zoology, ecology, behavior and evolution (laboratory coordinator), 1981-1986.

Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid, 1981, 1984.

Mae P. Smith Fund (American Museum of Natural History), 1981, 1982, 1983.

Harris Foundation, 1982.

University of Maryland Graduate School research award, 1983, 1984.

NSF grant “Mate choice and the evolution of secondary sexual traits”, 1987 (3 years), with John Endler (PI).

NSF grant “Reciprocal effects of female choice and male traits in Poecilia reticulata”, 1990 (3 years).

NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates supplement, summer 1992.  Research by Bradd Bridges at Univ. of California, Santa Barbara.

NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates supplement, summer 1993.  Research by Kirsten Findlay at Lake Forest College.

NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates supplement, summer 1994.  Research by Becky Bordeau at Lake Forest College.

Summer Undergraduate Research Experience Fellowship (sponsored by NSF and Council on Undergraduate Research), summer 1994.  Research by Melissa Hankes at Lake Forest College.

NSF Major Research Instrumentation Grant “Acquisition of a Multi-Imaging System”, 2001-2003.

NSF grant DEB-0128455 (Collaborative Research/RUI: The Role of Frequency Dependent Selection in the Evolution of Color Pattern Polymorphism in Guppies), 2002-2006,

NSF Research Experiences for Teachers supplement, 2002-3.  Research by Jonathan Weiland at Lake Forest College.

NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates supplement, summer 2003.  Research by Angie Eakley at Lake Forest College.

NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates supplement, summer 2004.  Research by Keith Hartley at Lake Forest College.

NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates supplement, summer 2005.  Research by Katie Hampton at Lake Forest College.

NSF Grant IOB-0743990 Collaborative Research/RUI: Behavioral and Genetic Mechanisms for Frequency-Dependent Survival and Mating Advantage in Guppies (2008-2012; $206,346).

NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates supplement, summer 2010.  Research by Robin Graber at Lake Forest College and Florida State University.

NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates supplement, summer 2011. Research by Billy Levinson at Lake Forest College.

Animal Behavior Society
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Society for the Study of Evolution
International Society for Behavioral Ecology
Society of Sigma Xi
Council on Undergraduate Research
Faculty for the 21st Century (Project Kaleidoscope)

American Naturalist, Animal Behaviour, Auk, Behavioral Ecology, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, Ecology, Ethology, Evolution, Journal of Comparative Psychology, Journal of Fish Biology, National Science Foundation, Natural History, NSERC (Canada), Australian and Norwegian granting organizations, Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Oxford Surveys in Ecology and Evolution, Oxford University Press.

Co-editor, Behavioral Ecology, 2003-2008.
Editorial Board, Behavioral Ecology, 1998-2003.
Associate Editor, The American Naturalist, 1997-2001.

Helen Rodd, York University, Canada, 1994
Shawn Nordell, University of New Mexico, 1995
Mike Gilchrist, Duke University, 2001

SUNY at Albany, Department of Biological Sciences, Behavioral Ecology Group, February 1988.

Siena College, Department of Biology, February 1988.

Princeton University, Department of Biology, Population Biology Colloquium, February 1988.

Young Investigators Symposium, American Society of Naturalists, Penn State University, June 1989.

Linnaean Society of New York, September 1989.

Department of Biology, Texas Tech University, February 1990.

Department of Biology, Barnard College, February 1990.

Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, April 1990.

Department of Biology, University of Texas, Arlington, January, 1991.

Department of Biology, University of North Dakota, March, 1991.

Symposium on Evolution of geographic variation in behavior, Animal Behavior Society meeting, Wilmington, North Carolina, June, 1991.

Central Connecticut State University, June, 1991.

University of California, Berkeley, October, 1991.

University of British Columbia, November, 1991.

University of Minnesota, March 1992.

Lake Forest College, March 1992.

Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, March 1993.

Lake Forest College, Sigma Xi speaker, April 1993.

American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Symposium on sexual selection in lower vertebrates, Austin, May 1993.

York University, Toronto, January 1994

School of Ecology, University of Georgia, February 1994

Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, October, 1995

Department of Biology, University of Illinois, Chicago, November 1995

Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, February 1996.

School of Biological Sciences, University of Kentucky, April, 1996

Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, May 1996

Department of Zoology, University of Trondheim, Norway, August 1996

Department of Biology, Beloit College, October 1996

Project Kaleidoscope Workshop, William Jewell College, May 1998

Department of Biology, University of Wisconsin, Whitewater, February 1999

Illinois College, Jacksonville, Illinois, February 1999

University of Toronto, Department of Zoology, November, 1999

Willamette University, Oregon, February 2000

St. Francis University, Joliet, IL March 2001

Duke University, April 2001

St. Louis University, April 2002

Keynote address, International meeting of Poeciliid Biologists, Trondheim Norway, December 2005. Polymorphism in Guppies: Trying to Solve an Old Mystery.

Catalysis Workshop on Poeciliid Genomics, National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, Durham, North Carolina; May 2-4 2007. Guppies as a model system for investigating sexual behavior and sexual selection:  Potential insights from genomic resources. 

Costs and benefits of coloniality in Common Terns.  Colonial Waterbird Group Meeting, Chevy Chase, Maryland, November 1982.

Site tenacity in a Common Tern colony.  American Ornithologists’ Union centennial meeting, New York, October, 1983.

Sexual selection in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata).  Joint meeting of American Society of Naturalists and Society for the Study of Evolution, Chicago, June, 1985.

Genetic difference in female choice behavior between populations of the guppy (Poecilia reticulata). Society for the Study of Evolution meeting, Durham, New Hampshire, June 1986.

Sex-linked heritability of a sexually selected character. Society for the Study of Evolution meeting, Asilomar, California, June, 1988.

Correlated variation in male color patterns and female preferences among guppy populations (with John Endler).  Joint meeting of the American Society of Naturalists and Society for the Study of Evolution, Penn State University, June 1989.

Preliminary evidence for genetic correlation between female mating preference and a preferred male character in the Trinidad guppy.  ICSEB IV, University of Maryland, College Park, July 1990.

Preliminary evidence that Fisher’s mechanism could work in guppies.  Southwest Association of Biologists meeting, Portal, Arizona, October, 1990.

Effect of monogenean infection on male color pattern and female choice in guppies.  Joint meeting of the American Society of Naturalists and the Society for the Study of Evolution, Hilo, Hawaii, July, 1991.

Bordello design in guppy experiments.  Ecology and evolutionary ethology of fishes meeting, Durham, New Hampshire, June 1992.

Comparison of female choice in two different populations of guppies.  (co-author with Melissa Hankes).  Argonne Symposium for Undergraduates, Argonne, Illinois, November 1993.

Effect of behavioral interactions on the courtship behavior of guppies (presented by Melissa Hankes).  Midwest Animal Behavior Conference, Carbondale, IL.  April 1994.

Mismatch between female preference and expression of male color pattern in some guppy populations (with Melissa Hankes). Ecology and evolutionary ethology of fishes meeting, Victoria, British Columbia.  May 1994.

Mismatch between female preference and expression of male color pattern in some guppy populations (with Melissa Hankes).  Animal Behavior Society Annual Meeting, Lincoln, Nebraska, July 1995.

Desires denied:  constraints on sexual selection.  Winter Animal Behavior Conference, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, January 1996.

Effect of social environment on sexual behavior of male guppies.  Poster presentation co-authored by Kristie Soeder.  Animal Behavior Society Annual Meeting, June 1999. Bucknell University.

Evolution of reverse sexual size dimorphism in Accipiters.  Poster presentation co-authored by Beth Ruedi.  Society for the Study of Evolution annual meeting.  June 2001.  Knoxville, TN.

Female guppies more likely to flee competing suitors. Poster presentation co-authored by Josiah Brewster.  International Society for Behavioral Ecology biennial meeting.  Montreal, July 2002.

Female guppies favor novel males and dicriminate against “redundant” males when they encounter a potential second mate. Presented by co-author Angela Eakley ’03.  Society for the study of Evolution Annual meeting, July 2003, Chico California.

The effect of visual obstructions on courtship interference by male guppies: The importance of privacy. Poster presentation; co-author with Tammy Hibler ’05.  International Society for Behavioral Ecology.  Jyvaskyla, Finland, July 2004.

Seeking Satisfaction: Effects of Multiple Mating on Timing of Fertilization in Female Guppies (Poecilia reticulata).  Poster presenation: co-author with Keith Hartley ’05. Society for the Study of Evolution. Fairbanks, Alaska, June 2005.

Response of female guppies to unique vs redundant males: The allure of the distinctive.  Co-authored with Katie Hampton ’05. International Society for Behavioral Ecology, Tours France, July 2006.

Follow the leader:  Effects of female responsiveness on mate choice copying in guppies.  Co-authored with Jill Olejnik ’09. International Society for Behavioral Ecology, Cornell University, August 2008.

Female preference for novel males in guppies: Does a fresh face matter? Poster co-authored with Robin Graber ’12, Liz Ross ’11, and Madhavi Senagolage ’12.  European Poeciliid Conference, St. Andrews University, June 2010.

MacFarlane, A. 1977. Roof-nesting in Common Terns. Wilson Bull. 89: 475-476.

Houde, A.E. 1983. Nest density, habitat choice, and predation in a Common Tern colony.  Colonial Waterbirds 6: 178-184.

Houde, A.E. 1987. Mate choice based upon naturally occurring color pattern variation in a guppy population.  Evolution 41: 1-10.

Houde, A.E. 1988. Genetic differences in mating preferences between guppy populations.  Animal Behaviour 36: 510-516.

Houde, A.E. 1988. The effects of female choice and male-male competition on the mating success of male guppies. Animal Behaviour 36: 888-896.

Houde, A.E. 1988. Sexual selection in guppies called into question.  Nature 333:711.

Long, K. D. and A. E. Houde. 1989. Color as a visual cue for female choice in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata). Ethology 82: 316-324.

Houde, A. E. and J. A. Endler 1990. Correlated evolution of female mating preference and male color patterns in the guppy Poecilia reticulata. Science 248: 1405-1408.

Houde, A. E. 1992. Sex-linked heritability of a sexually selected character in a natural population of Poecilia reticulata (Pisces: Poeciliidae) (guppies). Heredity  69: 229-235.

Houde, A. E. and A. J. Torio. 1992.  Effect of parasitic infection on male color pattern and female choice in guppies  Behavioral Ecology 3: 346-351.

Houde, A. E. 1993.  Evolution by sexual selection: what can population comparisons tell us? American Naturalist. 141: 796-803.

Houde, A. E. 1994. Effect of artificial selection on male color patterns on mating preferences of female guppies. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: 256: 125-130.

Endler, J. A. and A. E. Houde. 1995. Variation in male color patterns and female mate choice among guppy populations. Evolution  49: 456-468.

Houde, A. E. and Hankes, M.(LFC ’95) 1997. Mismatch between female preference and expression of male color pattern in some guppy populations. Animal Behaviour  53:353-361.

Rosenqvist, G. and A. E. Houde. 1997. Prior exposure to male phenotypes influences mate choice in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata). Behavioral Ecology  8: 194-198.

Houde, A. 1997. Sexual selection and mate choice in guppies. Princeton University Press, Monographs in Behavioral Ecology.

Houde, A. 1997. Review of: Sexual Selection:  Mate Choice and Courtship in Nature by JL and CG Gould.  American Zoologist 37: 437-438.

Houde, A. 2000.  Incorporating primary literature into courses through mock symposia.  Journal of College Science Teaching 30: 184-187.

Houde, A. 2001. Sex roles, ornaments and evolutionary explanation.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 98: 12857-12859.

Houde, A.E. and Brewster, J. (LFC ’01) 2003.  Are female guppies more likely to flee when approached by two males? J. Fish Biol. 63, 1056-1059.

Eakley, A. L. (LFC ’03) and Houde, A. E. 2004.  Possible role of female discrimination against ‘redundant’ males in the evolution of colour pattern polymorphism in guppies. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B (Suppl.) 271, S299-S301.  The Royal Society DOI 10.1098/rsbl.2004.0165

Hibler, T.(LFC ’05) and Houde A.E. 2006. The effect of visual obstructions on courtship interference by male guppies: The importance of privacy. Animal Behaviour 72, 959-964 doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2006.03.007

Olendorf, R., Rodd, F. H., Punzalan, D., Houde, A. E., Hurt, C., Reznick, D. N., & K. A. Hughes. 2006. Frequency-dependent survival in natural guppy populations. Nature 441: 633-636. doi:10.1038/nature04646

Houde, A.E. 2006. Review of Sexual selections:  what we can and cannot learn about sex from animals by Marlene Zuk. Politics and the Life Sciences. 24:104

Kokko, H., Jennions, M.D. and A.E. Houde. 2007. Evolution of frequency-dependent mate choice: keeping up with fashion trends. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 274:1317-1324.  The Royal Society doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.0043

Hampton, K.J. (LFC ’06), Hughes, K.A. and A.E. Houde. 2009. The allure of the distinctive: Reduced sexual responsiveness of female guppies to ‘redundant’ male colour patterns. Ethology 115:475-481. doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2009.01634.x

Schramm, M.N. (LFC ’10) and A.E. Houde. In prep. Playing your cards right:  How guppies, Poecilia reticulata, alter their courtship tactics in varying social environments.

Graber, R. (LFC ’12), Ross, E. (LFC ’11), Senogolage, M. (LFC ’12) and A.E. Houde. In prep. Female preference for novel males in guppies: Does a fresh face matter?

National Merit Scholarship, 1977.
National Science Foundation predoctoral fellowship (three-year), 1980. 
Young Investigators Prize, American Society of Naturalists, 1989.
Bird Award for Intellectual Contributions to the Campus Community, Lake Forest College, 2006.