Research
Overview
This page summarizes the various projects members of our research group are
currently involved in, or have completed in the past few years. Many of
these projects are interconnected, but we've tried to distinguish distinct
subsections of each project to provide detail on the diversity of work that we
do. For each project we've also identified the primary person directing
the actual work.
BIRDS AND
AGRICULTURE PROJECTS
Bird use of California rice fields. More
info here. Funded by the Institute for Waterfowl and Wetlands
Research, Duck's Unlimited, and The Nature Conservancy. (Chris Elphick)
Waterbird use of row crop agriculture in North America. Funded by
the National Audubon Society. Reports emanating
from this work are available here. (Oriane Taft and Chris Elphick)
Global review of the use and conservation value of rice fields by birds.
Symposium
abstracts here. (Chris Elphick, with help from many others)
Rice and waterbirds working group. More info here.
(Chris Elphick)
ENDANGERED AND
DECLINING SPECIES PROJECTS
Time series analysis of endangered Hawaiian waterbirds.
(Chris Elphick in collaboration with Michael Reed at
Extinction patterns in North American and Hawaiian birds. (Chris Elphick
in collaboration with Michael Reed at
Modelling the effects of wind farm
development on the population dynamics of Caribbean brown pelicans. Funded
by WindMar. (Chris Elphick and Martha Ellis)
Testing the effects of human nocturnal lighting on endangered beach-nesting
birds. Funded by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection
(Office of Long Island Sound Program). (Chris Elphick, Carina Gjerdrum, and Margaret Rubega)
Ecology
and conservation of chimney swifts. (Margaret Rubega and Tanner Steeves)
FUNCTIONAL MORPHOLOGY
PROJECTS
Functional morphology, anatomy, and development of feeding mechanics in
shorebirds. (Margaret Rubega)
Functional morphology and feeding mechanics of insectivory
in hummingbirds. (Gregor Yanega)
Feeding mechanics of insectivory in bee-eaters.
Funded by UConn's Summer Undergraduate Research
Fund. (Kira Sullivan-Wiley and Margaret Rubega
in collaboration with staff at the Bronx Zoo)
Functional morphology and anatomy of feeding structures in raptors and
shrikes. (Diego Sustaita)
INVASIVE
SPECIES PROJECTS
Invasive plant seed dispersal by introduced European starlings. Funded
by the US Department of Agriculture and the National Science Foundation.
(Nancy LaFleur and Margaret Rubega)
Modelling population dynamics and control
of introduced mute swans. Funded by UConn's
Summer Undergraduate Research Fund. (Martha Ellis and Chris Elphick)
Modelling the effects of mute swan grazing
on submerged aquatic vegetation in Long Island Sound. Funded by the
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (Office of Long Island Sound
Program). (Chris Elphick, with related
field work conducted by Min Huang of the Connecticut DEP)
SALTMARSH BIRD
PROJECTS
Habitat use by saltmarsh nesting birds. More
info here. Funded by the Environmental Protection Agency, Connecticut
Sea Grant, and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (Office
of Long Island Sound Program and Wildlife Division). (Chris Elphick and
Carina Gjerdrum)
Behavioural ecology of breeding saltmarsh
sharp-tailed sparrows. Funded in part via UConn's
Summer Undergraduate Research Fund. (Chris Elphick and Carina Gjerdrum, with help from various undergraduate
collaborators)
Testing the mechanisms of area-sensitivity in saltmarsh breeding birds.
Funded by Connecticut Sea Grant. (Chris Elphick)
Movement behavior of breeding saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrows.
Funded by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (Office of
Long Island Sound Program), the Eastern Bird Banding Association, and the
Association of Field Ornithologists. (Jason Hill)
Role of social cues in determining habitat selection in saltmarsh
sharp-tailed sparrows. Funded by the Cooper Ornithological
Society. (Trina Bayard)
Vocal behavior of saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrows. Funded by UConn's Summer Undergraduate Research Fund. (Chris
Field)
Patterns of paternity in saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrows. (Chris
Elphick in collaboration with Chris Hill of Coastal Carolina University)
Effects of saltmarsh restoration on saltmarsh birds. Funded by
Connecticut Sea Grant. (Chris Elphick)
Effects of sea-level rise on saltmarsh saltmarsh
sharp-tailed sparrows. (Chris Elphick)