UConn Ornithology Group: People

The UConn Ornithology Research Group consists of members of the lab groups associated with Chris Elphick and State Ornithologist Margaret Rubega.  Members of the overall group work on a diverse range of topics related to the ecology, evolution, and conservation of birds, but we also interact closely with each other by holding joint lab meetings, and generally trying to meddle in each others' research as much as possible.  The composition of the group is in constant flux, but we'll try to keep this list more-or-less up to date.

MEMBERS OF THE RUBEGA LAB

Nancy LaFleur recently completed her PhD on the interactions between European starlings and invasive plants.  She is currently a postdoctoral researcher working on both invasive plants and starlings.

Alejandro Guevara is an EEB PhD student with an interest in functional morphology.

Steven Hovorka is a student in the EEB BS/MS program.

Margaret Rubega is a faculty member in the EEB department.

Tanner Steeves is a student in the EEB BS/MS program.  He is currently involved in lab projects on invasive species, saltmarsh birds, and chimney swifts.

Diego Sustaita is an EEB PhD student with an interest in the functional morphology of prey capture in raptors and shrikes. 

MEMBERS OF THE ELPHICK LAB

Morgan Borsari is an undergraduate work study student who has been helping with data management.  Among other things she is currently helping to compile data on tidal patterns in Long Island Sound for use in our saltmarsh bird studies.

Patrick Bukowski is an EEB BS/MS student who has helped with invertebrate identification for our saltmarsh bird studies and is currently doing research on waterbird use of agricultural fields.

Chris Elphick is a faculty member in the EEB department.

Sue Meiman is an EEB Master's student working on saltmarsh birds.

Trina Schneider is an EEB PhD student studying breeding site selection behavior in saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrows.

PAST LAB MEMBERS

Dan Britton is a former student in the EEB BS/MS program and the first to survive having Chris as his advisor.  He is currently working in solar power.

Meghan Connolly was an undergraduate Honors student looking into the way scientific information on climate change is portrayed in the media.

Martha Ellis was an EEB major who conducted independent research on mute swan population dynamics and behavior in our group. She is currently an NSF-supported PhD student at the University of Montana.

Chris Field is a former student in the EEB BS/MS program.  He is currently working the Important Bird Area coordinator for Audubon Connecticut.

Carina Gjerdrum ran our saltmarsh sparrow research for the first 3 years of the project.  Prior to that she earned her MSc at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, where she did some very cool research on tufted puffins.  She now works as a seabird biologist for the Canadian Wildlife Service in Nova Scotia.

Jason Hill is a former EEB MS student studying the movement behavior and survival of saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrows. He is now in the PhD program at Penn State.

Selena Humphries was an EEB major who conducted independent research on saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow nest building behavior in our group.

Erin King is a former EEB BS/MS Master’s student who worked on our saltmarsh sparrow studies for several years.  She is currently a biologist for the USFWS in Rhode Island.

Shannon Murray was an EEB undergraduate working on avian functional morphology in ruddy turnstones.  She is now a naturalist working at a nature center in Wilton.

Michelle Przybylek was an undergraduate working on the conservation value of Christmas tree plantations.

Kara Rogers is a former student in the EEB BS/MS program, with Margaret as her advisor.

Kira Sullivan-Wiley was an EEB major who conducted independent research working on the functional morphology of prey capture in bee-eaters and on saltmarsh sparrow reproductive biology.  She is currently working in the bird collection at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Oriane Taft is a former postdoctoral researcher who worked on a major review of waterbird occurrence in agricultural habitats.  Although still affiliated with our research group she is currently based in Oregon where she works for NRCS.

Gregor Yanega is a former EEB PhD student who studied the functional morphology of insectivory in hummingbirds.

OTHER COLLABORATORS

Patrick Comins is Director for Bird Conservation at Audubon-Connecticut.  He is responsible for prompting our group’s interest in saltmarsh sparrows.

Dave Roberts is an orchidologist (I just made that up) at Kew Gardens in London who we’ve been working with on several projects involving extinction.

Chris Hill is a professor at Coastal Carolina University who has been helping us to study paternity patterns in saltmarsh sparrows.

Shannon Kearney is a PhD student in the Pathobiology department and a wildlife biologist with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.  Members of our research group have helped with her research on West Nile Virus in birds.

Michael Reed is a professor at Tufts University.  A long-term friend since our Reno days, Michael and Chris collaborate on a variety of topics and frequently get lost when driving places because we’re talking rather than paying attention to where we’re going.