MUN Psychology - Faculty


Anne Storey

I study parental behaviour and mating strategies in birds (both parents participate) and mammals (paternal participation variable). My students and I are examining parental investment in a long-lived seabird, the Common Murre, in relation to paternity, yearly changes in food availability, sex of chick and pair stability using an eight-year data set from individually marked birds. One recent finding is that murre divorce ‘victims’ fed their chicks less often in the years before their partners re-paired, suggesting that parental quality affects whether pairs stay together.

My mammalian work concerns the social cues emanating from mates and young that make fathers more parental just before and after the birth of young. Following from my earlier work in rodents, we tested expectant and new fathers and published the first study showing that men have higher hormone concentrations near the birth of their babies, as do mothers. Most recently, we have followed the same couples through the births of their first and second babies, so as to document how paternal responsiveness changes with hormones and parental experience.

Robertson, G. J., Storey, A. E., & Wilhelm, S. I. (In press) Local survival rates of Common Murres breeding in Witless Bay, Newfoundland. Journal of Wildlife Management.

Moody, A. T., Wilhelm, S. I., Cameron-MacMillan, M. L., Walsh, C. J., & Storey, A. E. (2005). Divorce in common murres (Uria aalge): relationship to parental quality. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 57, 224-230.

Wilhelm, S. I. & Storey, A. E. (2004) Temporal Comparisons in feeding ecology and growth of young Common Guillemots (Uria aalge). Atlantic Seabirds, 6, 47-64.

Hipfner, J.M., Gaston, A. J., Herzberg, G. R., Brosnan, J. T., & Storey, A. E. (2003). Egg composition in relation to female age and relaying: constraints on egg production in thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia). Auk, 120, 645-657.

Ainley, D., Nettleship, D., Carter, H., & Storey, A. (2002). Common Murres (Uria aalge). In Birds of North America (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds). The Birds of North America Inc. Philadelphia, PA.

Wilhelm, S. I. & Storey, A. E. (2002). Influence of cyclic pre-laying attendance on synchronous breeding in Common Murres. Colonial Waterbirds, 25, 156-163. [View Abstract]

Walsh, C. J., Wilhelm, S. I., Stenhouse, I. J., & Storey, A. E. (2001). Social interactions of breeding Common Murres and a Razorbill. Wilson Bulletin, 113, 459-462

Hipfner, J. M, Gaston, A. & Storey, A. E., (2001). Nest site safety predicts relative investment in first eggs by two Alcid seabirds. Oecologia, 129, 234-242

Wilhelm, S.I., Walsh, C. J., Stenhouse, I. J. & Storey, A. E. (2001). A possible Common Guillimot (Uria alge) x Razorbill (Alca torda) hybrid. Atlantic Seabirds, 3, 85-88.

Wilhelm, S. I, Larson, D & Storey, A. E. (2001). Habitat preferences of two burying beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae: Nicrophorus) living among seabirds. Northeastern Naturalist, 8, 435-442.

Hipfner, J. M., Gaston, A., & Storey, A. E., (2001). Food supply and the consequences of egg size in the Thick-billed Murre. Condor, 103, 240-247.

Heath, J. P., McKay, D. W., Pitcher, M.O., & Storey, A. E. (2001) Reproductive Behaviour changes of the endangered Newfoundland Marten (Martes americana atrata): Implications for captive breeding programs. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 79, 149-153

Storey, A. E., Walsh, C. J., Quinton, R., & Wynne-Edwards, K. E. (2000). Hormonal correlates of paternal responsiveness in new and expectant fathers. Evolution and Human Behavior, 21, 79-95. [View Abstract]

Abbott, M. L., Walsh, C. J., Storey, A. E., Stenhouse, I. J. & Harley, C. W. (1999). Hippocampal volume is related to complexity of nesting habitat in Leach's storm-petrel, a nocturnal Procellariiforme seabird. Brain, Behavior and Evolution, 53, 271-6.

Delahunty, K. D., Noseworthy, D.E., McKay, D. W., & Storey, A. E. (2005). Development of prolactin responsiveness to infant cues: differences between men and women. Poster presented at the meeting of the Canadian Society for Brain Behaviour and Cognitive Sciences, Montreal, Canada, July.

Walsh, C. J., Wilhelm, S. I., & Storey, A. E. (2005). Getting to Know You: Extra-pair Copulation as a Mate Attraction Strategy. Poster presented at the meeting of the Canadian Society for Brain Behavior and Cognitive Sciences, Montreal, Canada, July.

Storey, A. E., Delahunty, K. M., Noseworthy, D. E., & McKay, D. W. (2004). Does prenatal variation in paternal responsiveness predict how men will be affected by later interactions with their children? Poster presented at the International Psychology Congress, Beijing, August.

Storey, A. E., Wilhelm, S. I., & Walsh, C. J. (2004). Evolution of parental care in Common Murres. Poster presented at the meeting of the Canadian Society for Brain Behavior and Cognitive Sciences, St. John’s, Canada, June.

Storey, A. E., Cameron- MacMillan, M. L., Walsh, C. J., & Wilhelm, S. I. (2004). Pre-lay attendance in Common Murres: A sexually selected trait? Paper presented at the Pacific Seabird Group Meeting, La Paz, Mexico, January.

Robertson, G. J., Storey, A. E., & Wilhelm, S. I. (2004). Evidence for male-biased mortality in breeding Common Murres. Poster presented at the meeting of the American Ornithological Union, Quebec City, August.

Noseworthy, D., Delahunty, K., McKay, D., & Storey, A. E. (2004). Hormonal changes in first-time fathers: how important is paternal experience in the development of paternal responsiveness. Poster presented at the meeting of the Canadian Society for Brain Behavior and Cognitive Sciences, St. John’s, Canada, June.

Cameron-MacMillan, M. L., Wilhelm, S. I., Walsh, C. J., Storey, A. E., Robertson, G. J., & Innes, D. J. (2003). Pre- and post-hatching sex allocation biases in Common Murres (Uria aalge). Poster presented at the ACWERN conference, Wolfville, NS, November

Moody, A., Wilhelm, S., Cameron, M., Walsh, C., & Storey, A. (2001). An analysis of divorce in the Common Murre. Poster presented at the Meeting of the American Ornithological Union, Seatttle, August.

Storey, A. E., Groves, R.,Vasdev, S., & McKay, D. (2000). Individual variation in hormone levels of expectant fathers: Differences in how men respond to their partners or differences in partner behavior? Poster presented at the meeting of Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, Madrid, August.

Storey, A. E., Walsh, C.J., & Wilhelm, S. I. (2000). Pre-laying displays of common murres: paternal investment signals or mate synchronization? Paper presented at the meeting of the American Ornithological Union, St. John’s, Canada, August.

Walsh, C. J., Wilhelm, S. I., Davidson, W. S., & Storey, A. E. (2000). Seeking sperm or social bonding? The outcome of extra-pair copulations in Common Murres. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Ornithological Union, St. John’s, Canada, August.

Wilhelm, S.I. & Storey, A. E. (2000). Sex differences in parental care and body condition of Common Murres. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Ornithological Union, St. John’s, Canada, August.

Walsh, C. J., Wilhelm, S. I., Stenhouse, I., & Storey, A. E. (2000). Living among murres: One razorbill’s story. Poster presented at the meeting of the American Ornithological Union, St. John’s, Canada, August.

Wilhelm, S. I., Walsh, C. J., & Storey, A. E. (2000). Pre-lay attendance in Common Murres: Are males on the offence or defence? Poster presented at the meeting of the British Seabird Group, Wilhelmshaven, Germany, March.

Heath, J., McKay, D., Pitcher, M & Storey, A. (2000).Reproductive behaviour and non-invasive monitoring of the Newfoundland Pine Marten. Poster presented at the Martes 2000 3rd International Martes Symposium.

Storey, A.E., Ralph, T. M., & Evans, J. H. (1999). Does prolactin determine when lactating voles return to their pups? Poster presented at the meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, Miami Beach, USA, November. [View Abstract]

Wilhelm, S.I. & Storey, A. E. (1999) Males stay home with chicks while females hunt: are common murres the modern bird? Poster presented at the meeting of the Animal Behavior Society meeting, Lewisburg, PA, June.