Evolution of Boreal Forest Birds

In collaboration with students at the State University of New York at Albany, I am studying several species of birds that breed in “islands” of coniferous (boreal) forest isolated above 3000 feet of elevation in New York’s mountain ranges. High-elevation populations may be imperiled by ongoing climate warming, and we want to know if these populations of Bicknell’s Thrush, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, and other boreal forest specialists are genetically distinct and evolving independently of one another. 

Cascade Mountain
Cascade Mountain
Setting Nets
Setting Nets
Sampling a Bird for DNA
Sampling a Bird for DNA
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher