I	Anya E. Illes Postdoctoral Scholar Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology and Laboratory of Neuroendocrinoloy, Brain Research Institute University of California at Los Angeles Research Interests I study both proximate and ultimate mechanisms of behavior in animals. Currently I use songbirds as a study system. I am primarily interested in evolutionary mechanisms of birdsong, as well as neuroendocrine basis of singing, learning and memory. At UCLA, I study the role of hippocampal estradiol in spatial memory and neurosteroidogenesis in the zebra finch. Previously at the University of Washington, I investigated singing behavior of a songbird in which females sing more than males, a role reversal that is quite uncommon in nature. Email: ailles@ucla.edu Education 2011    Ph.D. in Zoology. University of Washington, Seattle. Department of Biology. Thesis advisor: Dr. Michael D. Beecher 1999    Graduate Certificate in Science Communication. University of California at Santa Cruz. Department of Science Communication. 1996    B.A. in Biology with emphasis in Ecology and Evolution. University of California at Santa Cruz. Department of Biology. Selected Publications Illes, A. E. Accepted pending minor review. Context of female bias in song repertoire size, singing effort and singing independence in a cooperatively breeding songbird. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. Illes, A. E. & L. Yunes-Jimenez 2009. A female songbird out-sings male conspecifics during simulated territorial intrusions. Proc.  R. Soc. B. 276: 981-986. Hall, M. L., Molles, L. E., Illes, A. E., & Vehrencamp, S. L. 2009. Singing in the face of death: male banded wrens sing more in their last breeding season. Journal of Avian Biology. 40(2): 217-224. Illes, A. E., Hall, M. H. & Vehrencamp, S. L. 2006. Vocal performance influences male receiver response in banded wrens. Proc. R. Soc. B. 273, 1907-1912. Hall, M. L., Illes, A. & Vehrencamp, S. L. 2006. Overlapping signals in banded wrens: long-term effects of prior experience on males and females. Behavioral Ecology 17. 260-269. Farji-Brener, A. G. & Illes, A. E. 2000. Do leaf-cutting ant nests make "bottom-up" gaps in Neotropical rain forests? A critical review of the evidence. Ecology Letters. 3(3): 219-227. Manuscripts in preparation No sex difference in song control region volume in a songbird The role of hippocampal estradiol in food-finding behavior in a songbird Estradiol affects TSPO expression in the avian hippocampus Age, delayed breeding and reproductive success in a female songbird with a strong singing role