Degree Seeking
PhD Biological Sciences
Education
BA in Zoology, Ohio Wesleyan University, 2007
Professional Interests
I am interested in the evolution of species and how the broad array of traits and behaviors that species exhibit came to be. In pursuit of these interests I am beginning my PhD research under Dr. Bernie Lohr (UMBC) and Dr. Russ Greenberg (Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center) using multiple character traits to understand the evolutionary relationships between subspecies of salt marsh-adapted marsh wrens. By looking at a subspecies complex with modest population variation in an extreme environment I hope to better understand the roles of behavior, ecology and gene flow in the establishment of species boundaries.