Sustainability Leadership Fellow Cohort: 2022-2023

Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biology

Research Summary: My postdoctoral research uses genetic information from museum specimens and contemporary samples of the willow flycatcher, a federally endangered migratory bird, to study migratory patterns and adaptation to climate change over the past century. Specifically, I am using patterns of genetic variation across the species range to examine the degree to which breeding and wintering populations are connected across the annual cycle. In addition, I am investigating whether particular genetic variants associated with climate variables, such as temperature, have increased in frequency since the early 1900s, which would indicate that the species is adapting to a warming climate.

Advisor: Kristen Ruegg