About
18
Publications
9,172
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
306
Citations
Introduction
I am an avian ecologist who works at the intersection of community ecology, tropical biology, landscape ecology, population biology, comparative zoology and conservation biology to understand the mechanisms underlying changes to biological communities along biophysical and Anthropogenic disturbance gradients. I believe strongly in field data collection coupled with rigorous quantitative analysis to produce results relevant for both fundamental and applied questions.
Skills and Expertise
Current institution
Education
September 2014 - May 2021
April 2008 - June 2010
September 2000 - May 2004
Publications
Publications (18)
Aquatic birds are notable among the global avifauna for living in environments exposed to large amounts of light. Despite growing evidence that visual adaptations to light underly the ecology and evolution of the avian tree of life, no comprehensive comparative analysis of visual acuity as approximated by eyes size exists for the global aquatic avi...
The link between dispersal traits and patterns of community assembly remains a frontier in understanding how vertebrate communities persist in fragmented landscapes. Using experimental release trials and intensive field surveys of bird communities in fragmented forests of the Peruvian and Colombian Andes, we demonstrate that morphological traits re...
Tropical montane bird communities are hypothesized to be highly sensitive to anthropogenic disturbance because species are adapted to a narrow range of environmental conditions and display high rates of endemism. We assessed avian sensitivity at regional and continental scales for a global epicenter of montane bird biodiversity, the tropical Andes....
Resumen ∙ La fragmentación del hábitat ha causado la extinción local de muchas especies y mayormente de aquellas con poblaciones pequeñas. Sin embargo, ciertas características del paisaje permiten que algunas especies logren persistir a pesar del impacto en sus hábitats. Desde 2016 a 2019, estudiamos el rango de hogar y el uso de hábitat en función...
Birds in mixed-species flocks benefit from greater foraging efficiency and reduced predation, but also face costs related to competition and activity matching. Because this cost–benefit trade-off is context-dependent (e.g. abiotic conditions and habitat quality), the structure of flocks is expected to vary along elevational, latitudinal and disturb...
Warming temperatures are increasing rainfall extremes, yet arthropod responses to climatic fluctuations remain poorly understood. Here, we used spatiotemporal variation in tropical montane climate as a natural experiment to compare the importance of biotic versus abiotic drivers in regulating arthropod biomass. We combined intensive field data on a...
Anthropogenic disturbance contributes to global change by reshaping the ecological niche space available to biological communities. Quantifying the range of functional response traits required for species persistence is central towards understanding the mechanisms underlying community disassembly in disturbed landscapes.
We used intensive field sur...
Tropical montane cloud forest may be especially sensitive to climate change. However, our ability to understand effects of climate on montane biodiversity remains limited by the resolution of climate data. We compared 5 years of in situ weather data from cloud forests in northern Peru, regional weather stations, and gridded datasets to examine how...
In coevolutionary arms-races, reciprocal ecological interactions and their fitness impacts shape the course of phenotypic evolution. The classic example of avian host–brood parasite interactions selects for host recognition and rejection of increasingly mimetic foreign eggs. An essential component of perceptual mimicry is that parasitic eggs escape...
The role of light in structuring the ecological niche remains a frontier in understanding how vertebrate communities assemble and respond to global change. For birds, eyes represent the primary external anatomical structure specifically evolved to interpret light, yet eye morphology remains understudied compared to movement and dietary traits. Here...
Significance
Parent–offspring conflict has explained a variety of ecological phenomena across animal taxa, but its role in mediating when songbirds fledge remains controversial. Our analysis of nesting and postfledging survival rates within 18 songbird species found that offspring commonly leave safer nesting environments for riskier postfledging o...
The role of light in partitioning ecological niche space remains a frontier in understanding the assembly of terrestrial vertebrate communities and their response to global change. Leveraging recent advances in biologging technology and intensive field surveys of cloud forest bird communities across an agricultural land use gradient in the Peruvian...
Resumen • Entender las distribuciones de edades y sexos de individuos en poblaciones es importante para describir la dinámica poblacional, demografía y para informar medidas de conservación. A pesar de la utilidad de los patrones de muda, características reproductivas, y la morfología para determinar la edad y sexo de individuos, pocas descripcione...
Wildfire is an important disturbance regime that can structure wildlife communities and their habitats for many years. Using a before-after-control-impact framework, we evaluated the effect of the Quartz Fire on a mixed broadleaf–conifer forest and associated bird community in southwestern Oregon, USA, over 10 yr. To assess whether fire severity ex...
Birds require additional resources for raising young, and the breeding currency hypothesis predicts that insectivorous species exploit large soft-bodied prey during the breeding season, but shift to small, likely hard-bodied, prey during the non-breeding season. To test this hypothesis, we examined prey use by Cerulean Warblers (Setophaga cerulea),...
Shade coffee has been identified as an important habitat for Nearctic-Neotropical migrants during the non-breeding season, including species of conservation concern such as Cerulean Warblers (Setophaga cerulea). To better understand habitat features important for migrants in shade coffee, we studied the foraging behavior of migrants in mixed-specie...
Little is known about juvenile birds' movements during the post-fledging stage of development, especially in urbanizing landscapes where novel ecological factors such as invasive plants and altered densities of conspecifics might influence fledglings' use of space. In 2008 and 2009 we used radio telemetry to track movements of fledgling Northern Ca...
A pesar de los incrementos recientes en el número de estudios demográficos sobre aves en ambientes urbanos, el período posterior al emplumamiento todavía es poco comprendido. Debido a que factores ecológicos nuevos (incluyendo los cambios en la abundancia de depredadores y de arbustos exóticos invasores) están asociados con la urbanización, nos pre...
Questions
Questions (4)
I wish to understand how tree cover (based on a remote sensing raster layer) varies with elevation and lat/long within my study area. Ideally I would have each pixel in my tree cover raster assigned values for elevation (based on a DEM) and lat/long. However, I'm not sure how feasible this is given that each pixel would be uniquely identified. An efficient method would be appreciated as I'm working at a Continental scale.
Thank you!
I prepared a Queen's Lysis Buffer solution (Tris HCl, NaCl, EDTA, SDS) for preserving blood by simply mixing prepared solutions of each ingredient. However, the buffer solution tends to precipitate into white crystals. I can dissolve it temporarily via a warm water bath, but I'd prefer a more permanent fix. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
I brought a solution of queen's lysis buffer with me to the field in Peru recently. It appears that the salts have precipitated (there is a layer of white solids on the bottom of the jar). This occurred after reaching high elevation where temps are around 10C at night. I have been told that the cold can cause the precip, but i would like to know more about (1) how to immediately rectify the problem and (2) how to deal with the situation in the long term given that I will be working at these temps all the time. The solution is for preserving blood samples. Thank you.
