Current and Past Members of the Westneat Lab

          Current lab members

Ian Stewart, Research Associate (Ph.D. from Leicester University) - Plumage signaling and development in House Sparrows.

Damon Orsetti, Ph. D. student (M. S. from Arizona State University) – Genetic variability and multiple mating in Colorado potato beetles.

Sanh Kin Diep, Ph. D. student – Status signals and the response of opponents during social interactions.

Amanda Ensminger, Ph. D. student (M. S. from Miami University of Ohio) - Social behavior, disease, and MHC variation.

Bridget Sousa, Ph. D. student - Mate choice and MHC variation in Dickcissels.

Patricia Hartman, Ph. D. student (M.S. from the University of Kentucky) - Ecological and Behavioral Interactions between Golden-Winged (Vermivora chrysoptera) and Blue-Winged Warblers (V. pinus).

Daniel Wetzel, Ph. D. student (M.S. from Georgia Southern University) - Plumage signals and parental care.

Sarah Martin, Ph.D. student (M.S. from Eastern Kentucky University) - Signals and male quality in indigo buntings (Passerina cyanea).

Kate (Utah) Newman, Ph.D. student (B.S. from Evergreen College) - Phylogenetic analyses of sexual selection in birds

Come and gone but not forgotten!

Dr. Sarah Sloane, Post-doc (1992-1994), - Parent-offspring recognition and parental care in house sparrows. Currently an Associate professor at the University of Maine-Farmington. Contact: Sloane at maine.edu.

Dr. Joe Poston, Post-doc (1996-1997, 1998-2000) - The influences of diet on plumage and immunity in house sparrows. Currently an Assistant professor at Catawba College, NC. Contact: jpposton at catawba.edu.

Richard Hanschu, M. S. (1999) – Thesis: Microsatellite based genetic studies of paternity in House Sparrows. Currently a computer system manager in Davis, CA. Contact: richardh at examen.com.

Tamara Roush, Principle Lab Technician (1996-1999) - Microsatellite analyses of paternity in red-winged blackbirds. Received Ph.D. in Entomology at the University of California-Davis.

Gina Hupton, M. S. (2000) – Thesis: Bacteria in the guts and ejaculates of Red-winged Blackbirds: Implications for multiple mating.

Dr. Herman Mays, Ph. D. (2001) – Thesis: Sexual conflict and constraints on female mating tactics in a monogamous passerine, the yellow-breasted chat. Currently Curator of Zoology at the Cincinnati Natural History Museum. Contact: mays at cincymuseum.org.

Wendy Hein, M. S. (2001) – Thesis: Dominance relationships and patterns of aggression in flocks of house sparrows, Passer domesticus. Currently a 4H educational specialist faculty member at Oregon State University. Contact: wendy.hein at orst.edu.

 

 

Tria Kinnard, M. S. (2002) – Analyses of Phenotypic Variation through the Life History of House Sparrows. Tria talking up immunocompetence in sparrows with Bob Trivers at the 2002 ISBE meeting in Montreal

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meg Hatch, Ph. D. (2003) – Parental care in the life history of house sparrows. (M.S. at University of Wisconsin). Currently an assistant professor at Pennsylvania State University-Worthington. Contact: mih10 at psu.edu. Web: Dr. Meg Hatch

Emily Morrison, M. S. (2005) - Plumage signals and male-male competition for nest sites in house sparrows. Currently a Ph. D. student at Michigan State University. Contact: ebmorris at msu.edu

Scott Lynn, Ph. D. (2006) - Cloning and expression of key endocrine genes in a study on estrogen stimulated sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in yellow perch. Currently a post-doc at Michigan State University. Contact: sglynn at msu.edu

Lab Visitors

Sarah Martin, Eastern Kentucky University. Paternity analyses in Eastern Bluebirds. 2005.

Dr. Ann E. Miller Baker, University of Michigan and Colorado State University. Microsatellite analysis of paternity in house mice with regard to the t-locus complex. 2001-2005.

Donna Landrum, Eastern Kentucky University. Paternity analyses of Indigo Buntings. 2001-2002.

Dr. Bruce Byers, University of Massachusetts. Paternity analyses and song of chestnut-sided warblers. Summer 2000, 2001.

• Byers, B.E., Mays Jr., H.L., Stewart, I.R.K, and D.F Westneat. 2004. Extrapair paternity increases variability in male reproductive success in the Chestnut-sided Warbler (Dendroica pensylvanica), a socially monogamous songbird. Auk, 121:788-795.

Letty Reichart, Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Paternity analyses of Bank and Cliff Swallows and Mourning Doves. 2000-2001.

Dr. Doug Schamel, University of Alaska. Paternity and sex ratio in red-necked phalaropes. Fall 1999 and 2000.

• Schamel, D. Tracey, D. M, Lank, D. B. and Westneat, D. F. 2004. Mate guarding, copulation strategies and paternity in the sex-role reversed, socially polyandrous red-necked phalarope Phalaropus lobatus. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 57: 110-118

Jana Hawks, Eastern Kentucky University. Paternity in Indigo Buntings. 1998-1999.

Dr. Don Miller, University of California-Berkeley. Genetic analyses of clonal aphids.

Dr. Robin Whitekiller, University of Oklahoma, Paternity in house sparrows.

• Whitekiller, R., D. F. Westneat , P. L. Schwagmeyer, and D. L. Mock. 2000. Badge size and extra-pair fertilizations in the House Sparrow. The Condor 102: 342-348.

Dr. Michael Carey, Scranton University. Paternity in Field Sparrows.

Sunni Lawless and Paul Klatt, Eastern Kentucky University. Paternity in Eastern Screech Owls and Northern Cardinals.

• Ritchison, G., P. Klatt, and D. F. Westneat. 1994. Mate guarding and extra-pair paternity in Northern Cardinals. The Condor 96: 1055-1063.
• Lawless, S. G., Ritchison, G. Klatt, P. H., and D. F. Westneat. 1997. The mating strategies of eastern screech-owls: a genetic analysis. The Condor 99: 213-217.

Dr. Liz Gray, University of Washington. Paternity in western populations of Red-winged Blackbirds and Yellow-headed Blackbirds.

• Westneat, D. F. and Gray, E. 1998. Breeding synchrony and extra-pair fertilizations in two populations of red-winged blackbirds. Behavioral Ecology 9: 456-464.