About Me
I am currently a PhD student under Dr. Kimberly Smith at the University of Arkansas. I completed my Master's Degree here in 2008 under Dr. David Krementz. My thesis project involved investigating the distribution, habitat use, and reproductive ecology of the king rail; for more information about this project, click here.
Current Research
I am currently interested in investigating the ecology and behavior of neotropical passerines, especially concerning the flocking behavior of understory birds. In neotropical forests, many species of birds, especially antbirds (Thamnophilidae) and ovenbirds (Furnariidae), forage in mixed-species flocks consisting of one individual or family group per species. Several species are obligate participants that spend nearly all their time in the flock, and are rarely seen foraging away from the flock. These core species defend a collective flock territory from other members of their respective species. Many other species are facultative participants, joining and then leaving the flock as it passes through their territories.
My current research project takes place at Tiputini Biodiversity Station, a remote field station in the Amazonian rainforest of eastern Ecuador. The station is only accessible by boat, and the rainforest has been only minimally disturbed. Animals that have been extirpated from smaller or more heavily pressured reserves, such as several macaw species, Salvin's curassow, and large mammals including the Jaguar and Tapri, can still be found at Tiputini.
I have selected the wedge-billed woodcreeper (Glyphorynchus spirurus) as a model species for which to examine the potential costs, benefits and proximate mechanisms associated with flock-following behavior. This common understory species regularly forages both in and out of flocks, and preliminary observations suggest that individuals vary in flocking propensity. Furthermore, individual home ranges appear to overlap extensively, thus the possibility exists that individuals compete for access to flocks within their home ranges. The nature of the observed home range overlap (mated pairs, parent-offspring, or unrelated individuals) remains unexplored.
In 2010 I conducted observations of wedge-billed woodcreepers to compare foraging behavior in and out of flocks. In 2011 I began tracking individual wedge-billed woodcreepers using radio telemetry in order to map territories and to measure the amount of time each individual spends with flocks. In 2012 I will be continuing to track wedge-bills and to conduct foraging observations; in addition I will be mapping flock territories, conducting flock species composition surveys, and collecting blood from captured wedge-bills to determine sex. In the future I hope to be able to conduct a genetics study to determine whether overlapping territories are primarily the result of family relationships or unrelated individuals.
Other Interests
I am very outdoorsy and love to hike, camp, canoe, backpack, and ride my bike (also my primary means of transportation around town). I love to run and have run 10 marathons, all in different states- my goal is to run one in all 50 states.
My husband Tom and I on a bike trip in the Everglades, and me happy to be finished with the Cowtown Marathon in Ft. Worth, Texas.
Selected References
Hackett, S. J. and K. V. Rosenberg. 1990. Comparison of phenotypic and genetic differentiation in South American antwrens (Formicariidae). Auk 107: 473-489.
Hutto, R. L. 1988. Foraging behavior patterns suggest a possible cost associated with participation in mixed-species bird flocks. Oikos 51: 79-83.
Munn, C. A. 1986. Birds that 'cry wolf'. Nature 319: 143-145.
Munn, C. A. and J. W. Terborgh. 1979. Multi-species territoriality in Neotropical foraging flocks. Condor 81: 338-347.
Rosenberg, K. V. 1993. Diet selection in Amazonian antwrens: consequences of substrate specialization. Auk 110: 361-375.
Rosenberg, K. V. 1997. Ecology of dead-leaf foraging specialists and their contribution to Amazonian bird diversity. Ornithological Monographs 48: 673-700.
Stotz, D. F. 1990. Foraging behavior and morphology in the avian genus Myrmotherula. Dissertation, University of Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Last updated 25 Aug 2011