Ornithology

Museum collections are long-term data sets that document changes in bird distributions and in birds’ physical traits and genomes over the last 150+ years.  I am studying patterns of genetic diversity in declining species like Bicknell’s Thrush, Spruce Grouse, and American Three-toed Woodpecker. I have also been conducting bird surveys in the Adirondack Mountains to compare with historic surveys conducted 50+ years ago to examine altitudinal shifts in bird distributions.