Maren Vitousek
(she/her/hers)
Associate Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
My research program addresses how organisms cope with challenges and changes in the environment. Rapid flexibility in behavior and physiology is a crucial component of an effective response to stressors. Yet there is remarkable variation within and across populations in the flexibility of phenotypic traits, as well as in the ability to survive and reproduce when facing challenges. Why do individuals respond to the same stressor in markedly different ways? Why are some populations more phenotypically flexible than others? How does selection shape physiological and behavioral traits, and their flexibility? Our lab addresses these fundamental questions by investigating the function, development, and evolution of hormonal and behavioral traits across differing ecological contexts.
I teach in BioEE 1780: Introduction to Evolutionary Biology and Diversity, BioEE 7650: Special Topics in Evolution and Ecology: Professional Development and BioEE 4660: Physiological Ecology.
Education
Ph.D., Princeton University
B.A., Amherst College
