Previous Education:
2003 - B.S. Animal Science, University of Florida
Research Interests:
I am broadly interested in the ecology and evolution of birds. I would like to investigate the effects of ecology on gene exchange between taxa. My current project focuses on patterns of genomic introgression across the Carolina chickadee / Black-capped chickadee hybrid zone using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. AFLPs provide a way to assess introgression at many loci, whether negative, neutral, or positive. Ultimately a more complete understanding of hybridization has implications for both theory (e.g. speciation and species concepts) and conservation (e.g. hybridization due to introduced species, secondary contact zones formed due to human disturbance or climate change).
Location of Research:
Appalachian mountains of Virginia and West Virginia
Funding Sources:
2006 – 2007: BEES-Smithsonian Joint Fellowship and University of Maryland
2007 – present: Darwin Fellowship and University of
Maryland
BEES Program Office, 2239 Bio/Psych Building, College of Chemical and Life Sciences,
University of Maryland,
College Park, Maryland 20742
phone: (301) 405-4552 | email: beesoffice@umd.edu
