Center for Ecology and Conservation Biology

Much of my research is motivated by the general goal of understanding the evolution of behavioral adaptations in birds. An effort to integrate analyses of both ultimate questions (function and phylogenetic history) and proximate questions (causation and ontogeny) has led me to utilize a variety of methodological approaches in both field and laboratory.

My current research emphasizes molecular genetic approaches to problems in avian systematics, population biology, and behavioral ecology. Avian brood parasitism spurred my interest in evolutionary biology as a student and parasitic birds have continued to be the focus of most of my research to date. Current research projects include: 1) Analyses of the population structure and evolutionary history of indigobird populations and species. Indigobirds are species-specific brood parasites of a number of estrildid finch hosts and have evolved nestling mouth markings that mimic those of the host. Parasitic nestlings also learn host songs and adult male parasites incorporate these songs into their courtship displays, resulting in assortative mating among parasites reared by the same host species. We are exploring the evolutionary history and population genetic consequences of this unique social system using mitochondrial DNA sequences and a variety of nuclear genetic markers, including microsatellites, intron sequences and AFLPs. 2) Systematic relationships of avian brood parasites and their hosts. How many times has obligate brood parasitism evolved in birds, what are the relative ages of the various parasitic lineages, and how is each group of parasitic birds related to their hosts? 3) Molecular systematics of the waterfowl (Family Anatidae: the ducks, geese, and swans). Phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences have led to a number of unexpected results that conflict with a recent comprehensive analysis based on morphological characters. I am using the waterfowl data to address issues in phylogenetic analysis and to examine the evolution of social behavior in this group. Students in my lab have worked on fish, bats, ants, and other birds, addressing a variety of questions in molecular ecology and systematics.