Graduate Student

Ph.D. Candidate, Stony Brook University

B.S., Ecology and Evolution, University of California Santa Cruz 2003

My dissertation research focuses on the effects of human land use on the behavior and nesting success of mixed-species flocks in Machalilla National Park. The park is one of the largest in the Tumbesian region of Ecuador and Peru, which is one of the most species-rich regions in the world in terms of endemics. The overall goal of my project is to study flocking behavior and reproductive success across a vegetation and land-use gradient, while testing basic hypotheses regarding determinates of flocking propensity and gaining much needed basic natural history information on little-known endemic birds in a highly threatened region.

I work closely with the small community of Agua Blanca, which is located inside Machalilla National Park. I hire field assistants from the community to help with my research, and I enjoy the exchange of knowledge that this entails. I hope that my work will allow for a greater level of awareness and concern for the biodiversity in the park, and thus for a greater level of protection of this unique and noteworthy region.

Prior to graduate school I worked for several years as a field assistant for other graduate students in Oregon, Hawaii, Panama, Peru, and Arizona. My graduate research advisor is Dr. Catherine Graham (Stony Brook University), and Dr. Steven Latta (National Aviary) is a member of my dissertation committee. My field work was funded in part by a Fulbright Student Grant.