Research

Raptor evolution in North America

How did the Late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions affect the body size and shape of modern birds? How have bird communities shifted in response to these extinctions?

I am studying fossils from Rancho La Brea in Los Angeles, California to answer these questions.

Fossil bird communities

My work with David Steadman at the Florida Museum of Natural History investigates recent (Holocene and Pleistocene) species extinctions and community-level changes in birds from Florida, the Caribbean, and Pacific islands. We have described several new species of birds from fossils.

Past projects

My M.S. work in Jessica Light's lab at Texas A&M University used museum specimens to explore diversity and phylogenetics of parasitic chewing lice from southern African birds.