Education + Research

Education

NSF Postdoctoral Fellow- (Advisor: John P. Whiteman, PhD Old Dominion University)

PhD Organismic and Evolutionary Bio., U. Of Massachusetts- Amherst (Advisor: Alexander R. Gerson, PhD) 2022

B.S. Biology, B.S. Psychology, University of New Mexico (2015)

Integrative Approaches to Ecophysiology

The next decades will prove to be critical in mitigating functional ecosystem collapse. My research seeks to define the physiological traits which animals employ to cope with extreme and dynamic environments. With this, we can better develop critical conservation efforts for the species most imperiled by climate change.

I employ metabolic analyses coupled with next-gen radiotelemetry, stable isotopes, and quantitative magnetic resonance technology to investigate the limits of flexible phenotypes in mammals and birds throughout the world. The following are a selection of projects I have worked on in the past few years:

Desert bighorn near a mist net. Boyd Deep Canyon, CA USA

Investigating monsoon rainfall contributions to songbird refueling in the desert southwest - NSF Postdoc (2022-2024)

Multi-season research project using novel isotopic techniques (Triple-Oxygen method) to determine reliance on endogenous water supplies in songbirds utilizing arid land stopover habitats during migration
Investigate if monsoon rain events have an appreciable contribution to the water budgets of migrants and determine if refueling performance is constrained by water balance in songbirds

Migratory Stopover Refueling in the Gulf of Mexico

Multi-year monitoring of Spring migration on a barrier island in Gulf of Mexico
Deploying MOTUS wildlife tracking receivers; representing significant gulf coverage utilized by international researchers.
Noninvasive collection of physiological data across dozens of bird species in free living animals.
Interfacing with public and private stakeholders to provide informed local conservation policy.

Tracking migratory songbirds as they refuel in the Sonoran desert

Deployed the first MOTUS array in western US to track local movement, stopover duration, and departure trajectory in southbound migrants.
Integrate climate data to determine if migratory songbird exploit cooler regions during monsoon rain events
Measuring refueling rates in small warbler species crossing through aridland habitats

Cambodian Sun Bear Metabolism

International collaboration with multiple stakeholders to collect metabolic data on Sun bears.
Data collection aids in informing impactful conservation policy for charismatic megafauna
Facilitated training of students enrolled in environmental science at Royal University Phnom Penh in statistical methods using R software

Selected Publications

Griego, M. DeSimone, J., Gutierrez Ramirez, M., Gerson, A.R. (2022) Migratory catbirds increase refueling rate and reduce metabolic penalties for larger body mass when preparing for long-distance flights. Journal of Avian Biology. (In Review)

Gutierrez Ramirez, M., Griego, M. DeSimone, J., Elowe, C.R., Gerson, A.R. (2022) Depleted lean mass after crossing an ecological barrier differentially affects stopover duration and refueling rate of migratory birds. Functional Ecology. (In Press)

Gutierrez Ramirez, M., Griego, M. DeSimone, J., Elowe, C.R., Gerson, A.R. (2022) Spring migratory stopover phenology at stopover sites in the Gulf of Mexico. Conservation Physiology. (In Review)

Griego, M. DeSimone, J., Gutierrez Ramirez, M., Gerson, A.R. (2021) Aminopeptidase-N modulation assists lean mass anabolism during refueling in the White-throated sparrow. Proceedings B.

DeSimone, J. G., Ramirez, M. G., Elowe, C. R., Griego, M., Breuner, C. W., & Gerson, A. R. (2020). Developing a Stopover-CORT hypothesis: Corticosterone predicts body composition and refueling rate in Gray Catbirds during migratory stopover. Hormones and Behavior, 124, 104776.

Sun, N. W., Goodwin, S. E., Griego, M. S., Gerson, A. R., & Clotfelter, E. D. (2020). Does blood loss explain higher resting metabolic rates in nestling birds with hematophagous ectoparasites?. Journal of Avian Biology, 51(2)

Pattinson, N. B., Thompson, M. L., Griego, M., Russell, G., Mitchell, N. J., Martin, R. O., & Hockey, P. A. (2020). Heat dissipation behaviour of birds in seasonally hot arid‐zones: are there global patterns? Journal of Avian Biology, 51(2).

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