About the Lab
MU’s avian ecology lab includes students and faculty members from both the Division of Biological Sciences and the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences. Students are typically funded through research assistantships, teaching assistantships, or fellowships and work on a diversity of projects throughout the Americas.
Current and recent research field sites include:
- Mark Twain National Forest – Missouri
- Mississippi valley bottomland hardwood forests – Missouri
- Oak-Juniper woodlands – Central Texas
- Guanica Forest Reserve – Puerto Rico
- El Cielo Biosphere Reserve - Mexico
- Manu National Park – Peru
- Tuamotu Atoll – French Polynesia
- Coastal longleaf pine – Florida
- Tropical limestone forest – Guam
Current Research
Members of the lab are using experimental, observational, and theoretical approaches to answer questions about the ecology and conservation of avian species. Some current projects:
- winter ecology and competitive interactions between migrants and residents
- altitudinal migration in the tropics (part of the Kosñipata Ecosystem Project)
- landscape effects on nest predation and nest predators
- movement and demography in Pacific island kingfishers
- dispersal in cooperatively breeding woodpeckers
- influence of landscape resources on sociality
Please visit faculty and student webpages for more detailed descriptions of these and other projects.
How to Join
Like our work? Contact the faculty member you are interested in working with about your research interests and funding availability.