People

Gerry Carter (CV) (Google Scholar)

I started the lab in Fall 2018. We study the evolution and ecology of animal cooperation, communication, and cognition. How do animals decide who they help? What factors predict whether two strangers will become become ‘friends’? What are the relative roles of contingency, interdependence, and nepotism for stabilizing the evolution of cooperative traits? Do certain kinds of vocal interactions lead to social bonding? Most recently, I am testing ideas about how new cooperative food-sharing relationships develop among vampire bats. My familiarity with the natural history of vampire bats helps me develop testable hypotheses about their behavior. I’m also interested in improving access to science and the incentive structures of academia. More about me.

Imran Razik (website)(Google Scholar)
I joined the Carter Lab as a PhD student in 2018 after completing my undergraduate degree in Zoology at SUNY Oswego. I’m largely interested in the behavioral ecology of mammals, and more specifically, bats. For my dissertation, I work with captive vampire bats at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. I aim to test if and how partner choice and individual differences in cooperative behavior affect the formation of new social bonds between strangers. I believe strongly that teaching, mentorship, and science communication should be accessible, effective, and fun.

Julia Vrtilek
I started my Ph.D. in the Carter Lab in Autumn 2020, following a B.A. in Biology (Amherst College 2015), an internship in the Page Lab (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute), and an M.S. in Biology (ETH Zürich 2019). I am interested in social behaviors, particularly cooperation, communication, and social learning. I am currently using a massive dataset of vampire bat contact calls to study the relationship between social bonds and vocal communication. I also plan to study the stability of vampire bat social bonds. One of my goals as a scientist is to write clearly and comprehensibly; good writing is an essential part of making both professional and popular science communication accurate, engaging, and accessible.

Raven Hartman
I joined the lab Summer 2020 as a BSc student in zoology, and started in Fall 2021 as a MSc student. Previously, I obtained a BS in aerospace engineering with a minor in mathematics and an MS in aerospace engineering with a focus on control theory from the University of Cincinnati. I’m currently interested in studying animal behavior and potentially applying my knowledge of mathematics and sensory information to a new field.

Haley Gmutza
I started my PhD in the Carter Lab in Autumn 2022 after completing my BS in Zoology at Michigan State University and my MSc in EEOB at Eastern Michigan University. I am broadly interested in cooperative and social behavior in mammals. I will be looking at partner switching in a captive colony of vampire bats on campus. I love to draw in my free time, and I am passionate about teaching and outreach in the sciences.