Alexander Badyaev

Associate Professor

Contact: Office BSW 424, phone 520-626-8830, Fax: 520-621-9190; email

Research Interests: Interface of evolutionary developmental biology, evolutionary theory, and ecology, with specific focus on the origin of adaptations. The unified theme of our work is the construction of an evolutionary framework that reconciles environmental contingency with evolutionary diversity in organismal forms. Under this general umbrella, we study: (1) Origin, development, and evolution of animal color diversity, (2) Epigenetic remodeling and genetic adaptation in ontogeny of skeletal structures, (3) Maternal effects and maternal inheritance, (4) Role of stress in diversification of organismal forms, (5) Evolution of behavioral and life history strategies, and (6) Evolution and development of sexual dimorphism.

Editorial Work: AE - Evolution, Evolutionary Ecology, Functional Ecology, Board - J. Evolutionary Biology, The Year in Evolutionary Biology

UA Natural History Museum: Curator of Bird Collection

Web Places: | CV | ECOL 330 |ECOL 596e! | Museum: Bird Collection | tenbestphotos.com|

Web Places: | CV, Research Page | ECOL 596e! | LabNews |

Libby Landeen

M.Sc. student

Contact: Office BSW 425, phone 520-621-4005, Fax: 520-621-9190; email

Research Focus: I study the evolution of complex pattern formation in coloration, specifically focusing on developmental co-regulation of growth and pigmentation.

Web Places: | CV Page | LabNews |

Dr. Anne Storey

2008 Sabbatical visitor

Professor and Chair of Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology Program, Memorial University

Contact: Office BSW 425, phone 520-621-4005, Fax: 520-621-9190; email

Research Focus: Dr. Storey's work is at the interface of animal physiology and life history, with specific focus on the significance of corticosterone and prolactin variation across ecological and social contexts. Lab collaborations include hormonal mechanisms of ovarian follicle selection in birds, especially under stressful conditions.

Web Places: | Faculty Page | LabNews |

Maja Udovcic

MathBio-REU Research Assistant; Honors College Student

Contact: Office BSW 425, phone 520-621-4005, Fax: 520-621-9190; email

Research Focus: I have a broad base of interest in evolutionary biology. Particularly, I am interested in the topics of speciation and the adaptive responses of a population to local selection pressures. In the lab I participate in the study of biochemical and structural mechanisms of feather growth and pigmentation.

Web Places: | CV Page | LabNews |

Tasha Krecek

MathBio-REU Research, Honors College Student

Contact: Office BSW 425, phone 520-621-4005, Fax: 520-621-9190; email

Research Focus: I am interested in evolutionary ecology and life history correlates of behaviors, particularly aspects of communication. In the lab, I am involved in a study of ontogeny of biochemical pathways in animal coloration.

Web Places: | CV Page | LabNews |

Michael Sweeney

Independent Research Study; UA President's Award for Excellence

Contact: Office BSW 425, phone 520-621-4005, Fax: 520-621-9190; email

Research Focus: Topics in the evolution of diversity and behavioural strategies engage me most, with specific interests in alternative mating strategies and courtship behaviour in animals. I also enjoy being involved in science-outreach education programs for community youth.

Web Places: | CV Page | LabNews |

Laura Stein

Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Honors Thesis

Contact: Office BSW 425, phone 520-621-4005, Fax: 520-621-9190; email

Research Focus: My current research project in the lab, in collaboration with Kevin Oh, examines fitness consequences of mate provisioning during incubation in relation to sexual ornamentation, maternal effects, and intensity of sexual selection in a population of house finches.

Web Places: | CV Page | LabNews |

Clayton Addison

Independent Research Study; MathBio-REU Research

Contact: Office BSW 425, phone 520-621-4005, Fax: 520-621-9190; email

Research Focus: I study ecological and morphological correlates of acoustic displays in birds and am also involved in project on anatomy and biomechanics of shrews' foraging apparatus. My research interests and field experience also include studies in marine biology and herpetology.

Web Places: | CV Page | LabNews |

Rachael Delaney

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, MathBio-REU Research

Contact: Office BSW 425, phone 520-621-4005, Fax: 520-621-9190; email

Research Focus: I am interested in evolutionary biology and reconciliation ecology. Areas of particular interest include the origin and evolution of symbioses, evolution of mating systems, and evolution of infectious diseases. My work in the lab focuses on tissue preparation for RNA extraction and real-time PCR to examine patterns of gene expression in remodeled skeletal tissues of shrews.

Web Places: | CV Page | LabNews |

Christina Esposito

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, MathBio Research

Contact: Office BSW 425, phone 520-621-4005, Fax: 520-621-9190; email

Research Focus: I am interested in evolutionary biology and my current work in the lab focuses on dissection, preparation, and measurement of muscle tissues of shrews as a part of a comparative study of morphology, ecology, and biomechanics of these animals

Web Places: | CV Page | LabNews |

Joanna Rutkowska

Postdoctoral Fellow

Research Focus: My interests focus on sex allocation and maternal effects with specific focus on integrating ecological context and molecular mechanisms of non-random meiosis using house finches as a model system

Web Places: | CV, Research Page |

Jay Meyers

Postdoctoral Fellow

Research Focus: Functional morphology and ecomorphology of the locomotor and feeding systems. Evolution of morphology and performance in response to resource specialization, community performance, evolution and selection of performance traits.

Web Places: |CV, research page|

Erin Lindstedt

Was: Research Assistant-- MathBio-UBRP; Now: Ph.D. student in Ohio State University

Research Focus: I am interested in the evolution and transmission of culturally inherited traits. Specifically, I am interested in the role that cultural transmission plays in the evolution of behavior....>

Web Places: | CV Page | LabNews

Takashi Kodera

M.Sc. in Computer-Controlled Systems, Osaka University, Japan

Was: Independent Research Study - MathBio;, Now: Ph.D. student in UC Riverside

Research Focus: I am interested in evolution of animal behaivor and evolutionary ecology of intraspecific interactions. My current project in the lab addresses the effects of demographic composition, dispersal, and spatial structure on selection in free-living populations.

Web Places: |CV Page |

John Putz

Was: MathBio-REU Independent Study; Honors College Student; Now: Ph.D. student in Indiana University

Contact: Office BSW 425, phone 520-621-4005, Fax: 520-621-9190; email

Research Focus: I am broadly interested in the evolutionary ecology of animals. In the lab, I am working with Rebecca Young examining variation in the foraging apparatus of soricid shrews. The project seeks to understand the relationship between life history and environmental sensitivity of skeletal development across taxa.

Web Places: | CV Page |

Dana Seaman

Research Specialist

Research Focus: My M .Sc. research involved using physiological information to address ecological questions concerning the migration of the Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri).

Web Places:| CV, Research Page| LabNews |

Louise Misztal

Research Technician, Arizona

Research Focus: I am interested in the fields of conservation biology and avian ecology with a specific focus on bird behavior. In the lab, I am responsible for all aspects of fieldwork and data collection in the main study population.

Web Places: | LabNews |

Jerod Merkle

Was: Research Assistant/Independent Study; Then: Chasing wolves in Yellowstone trying to overcome the finch envy; Now: Ph.D. student at University of Montana

Research Focus: I have a wide variety of interests in avian ecology. In particular I am interested in the interactions between species and their environments, and the evolution and ecology of paternal care.

Web Places: | CV Page | LabNews |

Clair Secomb

MathBio Research Assistant, Molecular & Cellular Biology/Math Minor; Honors College

Research Focus: I am interested in the fields of animal ecology and pathology. In the lab, I examine biochemical and molecular pathways inlvolved in maternal allocation of resources to offspring growth in birds.

Web Places: |Violin Coach: Tucson Junior Strings|

Ernie Solares

Arizona Biology Network (ABN) NIH Reseacher

Research Focus: I am interested in conservation biology and behavioral ecology. In the lab I conduct an independent study on the behavioral and ecological correlates of sexual ornamentation in birds and assist with all aspects of field and laboratory work. Funded by ABN/NIH/NSF in collaboration with Pima Community College...>

Web Places: | Estrella Mountain Community College | LabNews |

Kate Martin (Soetaert)

Was: Research Assistant, Montana & Arizona; Then: M.S. at Univ Alaska-Fairbanks; Now: Biologist, Oregon FWS

Web Places: | Personal Page | LabNews |

Rosetta Mui

Was: Honor Student Thesis, Research Technician; Now: PhD student at Cardiff Univ, UK

Research Focus: Maternal effects in birds; learning in juvenile birds

Web Places:| CV, Research Page | Personal Page | LabNews |

Terri Hamstra

M.Sc. student

Research Focus: In general, I am interested in the interaction of birds and ectoparasites. Introduced parasites to island species can be particularly devastating, and I would like to study a recently introduced fly larvae ectoparasite that may be threatening Darwin's finches on the Galapagos Islands.

Web Places: | LabNews |

Susanne Hinrichs

Was: UMB-REU Undergraduate Research; Now: Research Abroad, Ireland

Research Focus: I am interested in animal communication and the evolution of animal behavior. I am specifically interested in researching social interactions in primates and cetaceans.

Web Places: | EveryMan Jack & Jill Jazz Group |

Joanna Hubbard

Was: Independent Study, Undergraduate Research Technician; Now: M.S. graduate student at William & Mary

Web Places: | Personal Page |

Matthew Denman Smith

M.S. student - Conway Lab; Now - PhD. student in University of Florida

Research Focus: The evolution and maintenance of phenotypic variation is a fundamental topic of evolutionary and behavioral ecology. In general my research focuses on understanding how natural selection and sexual selection influence reproductive behavior, morphology, and life-history strategies. I am also interested in applying such empirical studies of adaptation to aid conservation efforts.

Web Places: Personal Page

Eric Ferreira

Research Technician

Web Places: | Personal Page|

Honorary Lab Members

Dodger

Interests: I am fascinated by variation in pheromones and allomones. In addition I actively study and modify functional morphology of fire hydrants.

Contact: Rebecca Young

Princess

Interests: I actively study the fitness costs and benefits incurred by audio amplification and ask whether the utilization of space cones may represent a novel adaptive strategy. I am also interested in the possibility of lunar inhabitation by canines.

Contact: Dana Seaman

Design, maintenance, and code are by Alex Badyaev © 2002-2007