Alum Amanda Gallinat Finds New England Migratory Birds Seek Native Food

Alum Dr. Amanda Gallinat and Dr. Richard Primack were recently published in the journal Biological Conservation. “Can invasive species replace native species as a resource for birds under climate change? A case study on bird-fruit interactions” finds that New England migratory birds prefer native foods. By examining examining the bird poop from over 450 birds, Dr. Gallinat and Dr. Primack discovered that birds were almost exclusively eating the fruits of native species, with low-quality invasive fruits left behind for overwintering birds to eat when nothing more appetizing remains. The publication is gaining attention, and has been featured on WBUR’s website and The Brink.

Dr. Gallinat is a former member of the Primack Lab, and received her PhD in Biology in 2018 with a certificate in Terrestrial Biogeosciences. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Pearse Lab at Utah State University. You can read more about Dr. Gallinat here.