Alumni

Ayala Berger

Ph.D. student 2016 - 2024. Dissertation: A 'tail' of two signals: acoustic courtship displays in Anna's and Costa's hummingbirds.

Elisa Henderson

Ph.D. student 2017-2022.Studies hybridization in hummingbirds (Anna's x Costa's, Black-chinned x Ruby-throated, and Rufous x Allen's). Officially Elisa was Alan Brelsford's student, but she studied hummingbirds, meaning she's one of us. 

Brian Myers

Ph.D. student 20xx-20xx. Using a hummingbird hybrid zone between Allen’s (Selasphorus sasin) and Rufous (Selasphorus rufus) Hummingbird, he studied sexual display behavior of each species across the area of contact and throughout their ranges. His research aimed to study how genetics, morphology, and behavior vary across a hybrid zone and to potentially discover the genomic regions associated with a novel, unlearned behavior in Allen’s Hummingbird. To achieve these goals, he conducted field work to record displays, capture the individual performing the observed displays, and perform genetic and morphological analyses to look for correlations between genes in each individual and their phenotype (behavior and morphology).

Emily Mistick

Lab tech, 2015-2017.  Most recently: Master's student at UBC (graduated summer 2019).  Currently working for StormSensor

Krista LePiane

Ph.D. student 2015-2020. Dissertation "The evolution and function of quiet flight in owls (Strigiformes) and Lesser Nighthawks (Chordeiles acutipennis)."

Katie Johnson

Ph.D. student 2014-2019. Dissertation "Sharing a song: Vocal Learning in Costa's Hummingbird". Currently an assistant professor at Riverside Community College

Sean Wilcox

Ph.D. student 2013-2020. Dissertation "Sexual selection, flight performance, and signaling in Black-chinned Hummingbirds (Archilochus alexandri)". Currently an assistant professor at Moorpark College