Research

I am interested in answering the following questions:
(To see a list of my research, click here.)

  • Do differing morphological techniques provide different results? What are some applications of landmark-based geometric morphometrics? Click here for Morphological Techniques.
  • At a microevolutionary level, do 2 sister species of hummingbird that breed in the United States have sexual size and shape dimorphism in their bill morphology? What is the pattern and magnitude of this dimorphism in comparisons to other species? Click here for Sexual Dimorphism at a Microevolutionary Scale.
  • To date, the majority of studies have focused on the widespread sexual size dimorphism of bill morphology in hummingbirds that do not migrate to North America. The Mellisugini hummingbird clade affords the opportunity to examine the pattern of sexual dimorphism in a clade of neotropical hummingbirds. Click here for Sexual Dimorphism in the Mellisugini Clade of Hummingbirds.
  • Is there a pattern between rates of hummingbird evolution and magnitudes of sexual size and shape dimorphism? Is there a correlation between rates of sexual size and shape dimorphism and clade age? How might ecological factors influence these patterns? Click here for Rates of Evolution in Sexual Dimorphism.

Other Research Interests