Our lab has diverse interests in avian ecology and evolution. A common theme is how life history influences evolutionary dynamics — including the process of speciation, the evolution of geographic range, and the impacts of Anthropogenic global change. Our research is field-, lab- and specimen-based, both leveraging and contributing to the scientific capacity of biodiversity research collections.
Evolutionary causes and consequences of seasonal migration
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The the life history strategies that organisms evolve to cope with seasonally fluctuating environments influence their population dynamics over both ecological and evolutionary timescales. We interrogate the evolutionary causes and consequences of seasonal migration, with the broader goal of leveraging migratory systems to inform longstanding questions related to biogeography, life history and evolutionary genetic processes. We are motivated to apply this information to better understand how and why migratory bird populations are influenced by Anthropogenic global change. We use a broad suite of tools and data for this research, including population genetics, comparative genomics, life history data, and the tracking of migratory birds in the field with geolocators. Our work is largely comparative in nature, employing phylogenetic comparative methods to test hypotheses.
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Leveraging museum collections to understand global biodiversity change
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Through the dedicated work of museum personnel, natural history collections harbor an unparalleled record of biodiversity during an era of rapid Anthropogenic global warming and habitat degradation. We are leveraging museum collections of North American birds collected over the course of the last century to understand changes in avian morphology, ecology, genetic diversity, and populations.
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Magnetoreception and the evolution of migration
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Our previous work has used phylogenies to study the evolution of migratory behavior. A challenge for studying the evolution of migration using phylogenies is that migration is not a trait, but a suite of labile behaviors and plastic physiological conditions. We are studying the evolution of magnetoreception—the ability to use the earth’s magnetic fields to navigate—as a key migratory trait with potential to inform our understanding of the evolution of migration. This collaborative and highly integrative research involves experimental approaches, transcriptomics and immunohistochemstiry, and time series analyses of space weather impacts on bird migration.
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Comparative genomics of speciation and community assembly
We are interested in furthering our understanding of the process of speciation. Birds of tropical montane regions continue to serve as a model system for our research questions, which include: How much genomic and phenotypic divergence is required for sister species in secondary contact to coexist without exchanging genes? Conversely, how much gene flow between incipient species will prevent their phenotypic differentiation? This research involves comparative genomics, fieldwork in the Andes and elsewhere in the tropics, and studies of museum specimens.