Ketterson to receive prestigious animal behaviorist award

Ellen Ketterson, March 22, 2017.
Ellen Ketterson. Sandee Milhouse Photography

The Animal Behavior Society has named Ellen Ketterson its 2018 recipient of the Distinguished Animal Behaviorist Award. This prestigious award recognizes an outstanding career in the field of animal behavior. In his congratulatory message to Ketterson, ABS President Jeff Podos noted that the "competition for the award was very keen." Recipients are selected from a field of nominees. The Animal Behavior Society is an international non-profit scientific society that encourages and promotes the professional study of animal behavior.

Ketterson, Distinguished Professor of Biology at Indiana University Bloomington, is possibly best known for her work with juncos. The 2013 documentary Ordinary Extraordinary Junco: Remarkable Biology from a Backyard Bird presents years of research by Ketterson and her colleagues, disclosing the diversity found among this common bird as well as discoveries related to migration, hormones, evolution, and ecology.