Research in the Singer Lab focuses on ecological interactions among plants, herbivores, and carnivores (tri-trophic interactions) in the context of evolutionary ecology, community and food web ecology, and animal behavior. Some of the research themes include the evolution of dietary specialization/generalism, ecological immunology, animal medication behavior, and the structure and function of ecological communities. Prof. Singer and his students use field and laboratory experiments and observations to conduct this research.

My longstanding interest in natural history, especially of insects and plants, propelled me toward field biology. As a child and young adult, I studied butterflies and their relationships with plants. Like many other naturalists, I have always been fascinated by patterns of biological diversity and the processes that generate and maintain them. All of these interests led me toward the biological disciplines of ecology and evolutionary biology. My preferred study subjects, insects and plants, are relatively easy to manipulate and gather or find in large numbers. This preference of study organisms facilitated my use of laboratory and field experiments in addition to field observations as the methodological cornerstones of my research program. My research interests correspond to my teaching interests and charges at Wesleyan. I teach Conservation Biology, Ecology, Plant-Animal Interactions, and parts of several courses dealing with Evolutionary Biology.