Research Interests

· Avian Conservation: Human disturbance has been shown to influence avian abundance and diversity, behavioral patterns, and breeding success. Previous studies have illustrated that birds may alter behaviors in response to disturbance yet display no reduction in breeding success, and vice versa. These results suggest that there may be sublethal effects of breeding in disturbed environments which can only be uncovered through longer-term research that incorporates measurements of chick health and adult responses to human disturbance over time. My current interests lie in observing and quantifying the responses of breeding cavity-nesting bird species in an effort to understand the trade-offs involved in living and breeding in a disturbed environment.

· Land Management: I have spent time working in riverine wetlands and the middle Appalachian Mountains and would like to conduct future studies in these regions. Because wetlands are incredibly important for energy flow and nutrient cycling, their health and preservation are essential to protecting the environment as a whole; however, the expansion of urban areas and increased human recreation deeper into pristine regions may endanger not only the specialized organisms that live in these areas, but the overall function of the wetlands ecosystems. Similarly, the Appalachians and other mountain systems are suffering from mineral leaching, chemical deposits, invasive species, and logging efforts, all of which threaten to deplete the valuable natural resources present in these mountain habitats. I am interested in using organismal surveys, GIS technology, soil/water sampling, and behavioral ecology to understand how we can create a balance between human and environmental needs.

· Biodiversity and Trophic Cascades: This is a topic to which I am relatively new, but which I would be interested in pursuing in the future. Because much work has already been done on the effects of fragmentation, I would like to look at biodiversity in a new way and believe that trophic cascades are an efficient and incredibly useful way to do so. This research looks at explicit relationships between organisms within and between ecosystems to understand the impact of increasing or reducing population numbers. Although much of this research has been done in the tropics, I would like to look at trophic cascades along the urban gradient in order to understand on a new level how human expansion into pristine natural areas is changing the balance of ecological partnerships (e.g. birds and insects, birds and seeds (dispersal), insects and plant prey).