Artwork by Frederick Frohawk
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Hawaiian Honeycreepers
Hawaiian Honeycreepers is a group of birds that have explosively radiated into a wide range of eco-morphological niches. This group once consisting of almost 50 species, has been heavily impacted by recent anthropogenic disturbances, resulting in the extinction of two-thirds of the species. In this project, I am investigating the relationship between beak morphological variation and dietary niche breadth, and whether this relationship correlates with documented species extinctions in the historical record of the group. For that, I am combining a 2D geometric morphometrics approach with stable isotope analysis.
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Coevolution and Community AssemblyIn this project I am investigating how colonization, extinction, and coevolutionary dynamics influence the structure of island ecological networks. Specifically, I am interested in understanding how the evolution caused by species interaction -- coevolution -- shape species trait during the assembly process of mutualistic networks and how these traits feedback to shape the structure of the new community. For that, I am using mathematical models and numerical simulations.
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Artwork by Maria Sibylla Merian
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Müller 1879 |
Mimicry RingsMimicry ring is a group of species that has the same aposematic pattern. Although we would expect the existence of a unique mimicry ring in community, since predators' learning favors convergence, in many communities we find multiple mimicry rings. I am interested in understanding how species generalism to the habitat and the use of host plants by butterflies favor these mimetic patterns.
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