- Zoos: A Historical Perspective from Smithsonian Institution Libraries
The National Zoological Park is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums.
AZA
Micaela Szykman, Ph.D., Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Reproductive Sciences
Reproductive Sciences
Education
Amherst College, Amherst, MA, B.A., Biology, 1993
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, Ph.D., Zoology/Ecology
Evolutionary Biology and Behavior, 2001
Smithsonian Institution, National Zoological Park, Conservation
and Research Center, Department of Reproductive Sciences,
Post-Doctoral Fellowship, 2002-2003
Professional History and Interests
Micaela Szykman’s research interests focus on reproductive behavior and its underlying physiology in social mammals. Her work is primarily based on field studies and uses naturally occurring variation in wild populations to address testable alternative evolutionary hypotheses in behavioral ecology.
During her graduate career, Szykman spent several years in Kenya observing a population of free-living spotted hyenas to elucidate the courtship and sexual behavior and mate choice mechanisms of this unique carnivore species. Female spotted hyenas are socially dominant to males and possess highly masculinized genitalia, making hyenas an exciting subject for the study of sexual behavior and mate choice.
Szykman’s interest in understanding the endocrine physiology underlying reproductive behavior and success of individual members of social groups brought her to the National Zoo’s Conservation and Research Center (CRC), where she currently works with researchers in the Department of Reproductive Sciences in their state-of-the-art wildlife endocrine laboratories. Her post-doctoral research examined the ecological, social, and endocrine factors influencing hormonal development and reproductive suppression in cooperatively breeding meerkats.
Pursuing her desire to apply her skills toward conserving
endangered wildlife, Szykman initiated a field project
in South Africa that will utilize a multidisciplinary approach
to study pack formation, interspecific competition, and stress
in reintroduced packs of African wild dogs. In collaboration
with researchers in South Africa and colleagues at the CRC,
this ambitious project aims to integrate behavioral, spatial,
and physiological data collected for three competing carnivore
species: African wild dogs, spotted hyenas, and lions.
Ultimately, the goals of this research are 1) to study reintroduced
wild dog populations in southern Africa to better understand
the proximate mechanisms influencing individual and pack health,
reproductive success and survival; and 2) to develop an improved
understanding of ecosystem features (i.e., predator-predator
competition, predator-prey dynamics, and extent of human disturbance)
critical for supporting self-sustaining populations of African
wild dogs, other large carnivores and high biodiversity in
general.
Selected Publications
Szykman, M., A.L. Engh, R.C. Van Horn, E.E. Boydston, K.T. Scribner, and K.E. Holekamp. 2003. Rare male aggression directed toward females in a female-dominated society: Baiting behavior in the spotted hyena. Aggressive Behavior (in press).
Boydston, E.E., K.M. Kapheim, M. Szykman, and K.E. Holekamp. 2003. Factors promoting individual variation in patterns of space utilization by female spotted hyenas. Journal of Mammalogy (in press).
Engh, A.L., S.M. Funk, R.C. Van Horn, K.T. Scribner, M.W. Bruford, S. Libants, M. Szykman, L. Smale, K.E. Holekamp. 2002. Reproductive skew among males in a female dominated mammalian society. Behavioral Ecology 13: 193-200.
Szykman, M., A.L. Engh, K.T. Scibner, R.C Van Horn, S.M Funk, and K.E. Holekamp. 2001. Association patterns among male and female spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) reflect male mate choice. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 50: 231-238.
Holekamp, K.E., M. Szykman, E.E. Boydston, and L. Smale. 1999. Association of seasonal reproductive patterns with changing food availability in an equatorial carnivore, the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta). Journal of Reproduction and Fertility 116: 87-93.
Contact
Smithsonian
National Zoological Park
Conservation and Research Center
1500 Remount Road
Front Royal, VA 22630
Phone:
540.622.8414
Fax: 540.635.6506
