Research in Behavioral Ecology and Evolution
My research explores how parents and offspring deal with challenges. How do parents adjust their reproductive strategies in response to environmental uncertainty, predation, competition, or parasitism risk? How can offspring deal with competition, predation, and parasitism early in life? I approach these questions within an integrated framework that connects ecological processes with their evolutionary consequences.
Currently, I am an Akademische Rätin/Research Associate at LMU Munich, where I am working with a long-term study system of great tits (Parus major) and blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) to answer these questions.
Previously, I worked with another long-term study system, the prothonotary warbler (Protonotaria citrea), which is parasitized by the brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater).
These kinds of longitudinal systems make it possible to follow individuals throughout their lifetimes and to collect detailed morphological, physiological, and behavioral data. Most of my work is experimental - getting at the core of these questions through brood and nestbox manipulations, playback, and more. Ultimately, my research seeks to better understand how animals respond to environmental challenges and what these responses mean for survival, reproduction, and population dynamics in changing environments.