LAB MEMBERS

Postdocs

Dr. Todd Jones

Postdoctoral Fellow, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center & Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Research Affiliate, Illinois Natural History Survey

Hubbard Brook Research:
Within-season costs of reproduction in the black-throated blue warbler

Follow Todd's work: https://toddmj6.wixsite.com/todd-jones/home

My highly motivated students have developed original research on a variety of topics.

postfledging ecology
offspring sex allocation
perceived predation risk "fear effects"
research disturbance
artificial light at night
climate change
animal personality
sexual signals
vocal communication
female plumage variation

mate choice
extra-pair mating
parental behavior
nest predation
habitat selection
nest construction
avian malaria
diet
gut microbiome
population genetics

Student field projects have included lab components during the academic year and leveraged long-term data (behavioral, genetic, environmental) collected as part of long-term population studies. I encourage my students to develop original research, to write grant proposals to support their research, and to submit senior theses and scientific publications to further their development as scholars.

Current Students

cornell university

Amaya Bechler

Cornell University Class of 2025, Environment & Sustainability - Environmental Biology, Applied Ecology

Hubbard Brook Field Ornithology Program:
Characterizing variation in gut microbiome composition and diet from breeding through molt in the migratory black-throated blue warbler

Awarded a Student Science Research Grant from the Rochester Academy of Sciences (RAS)

Collaborator:
Dr. Brian Trevelline, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Andre Golumbeski

Cornell University Class of 2024, Biological Sciences - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Hubbard Brook Field Ornithology Program

Lezhi (Stella) Hao

Cornell University Class of 2023, Biological Sciences - Genetics, Genomics and Development

Hubbard Brook Field Ornithology Program:
Female plumage traits as signals of mate quality, competitive ability, and stress resilience in the black-throated blue warbler

Awarded a Student Science Research Grant from the Rochester Academy of Sciences (RAS)
Awarded a Wilson Ornithological Society Research Grant (https://wilsonsociety.org/2021/08/16/2021-research-grants/
Featured 2020-2021 Undergraduate Student Research Grant Award Winner (RAS eBulletin)

Follow on Twitter: @HaoStella10

Jackson Hutchison

Cornell University Class of 2023, Biological Sciences - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Hubbard Brook Field Ornithology Program:
Post-fledging movements, survival and habitat use of juvenile black-throated blue warblers

Awarded an Eastern Bird Banding Association Memorial Fund Research Grant
Awarded an Undergraduate Research Grant from the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Awarded a Student Research Grant from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

August Davidson-Onsgard

Cornell University Class of 2024, Biological Sciences - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Hubbard Brook Field Ornithology Program:
Signaling function of the supercilium in female black-throated blue warblers

Braeden Thomson

Cornell University Class of 2024, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Environment & Sustainability

Hubbard Brook Field Ornithology Program:
Oxidative costs and constraints of territory quality on reproductive effort in male black-throated blue warblers

Awarded a Student Science Research Grant from the Rochester Academy of Sciences (RAS)

Eryn Woernley

Cornell University Class of 2024, Environment & Sustainability

Hubbard Brook Field Ornithology Program:
Effects of timing of breeding on post-fledging parental care and survival in the black-throated blue warbler

Awarded a Student Research Grant from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Jasmine (JazzyJ), Lab Pooch

I am an avid birder and runner. I get along with every dog, cat, and person (big or small) that I meet. I enjoy exploring the White Mountain National Forest and entertaining the Hubbard Brook research community with my goofy smile and howl.

Support Team

Brett & Jack - always up for joining me in the field and chasing birds.

40th Black-throated Blue Warbler Field Crew 2022

Front row (L to R): Sophie Rabinowicz '21, Lezhi (Stella) Hao '23, Eryn Woernley '24, August Davidson-Onsgard '24, Amaya Bechler '25, Lindsey Forg '22, Sara Kaiser (Director). Back row (L to R): Samantha Hagler '20, John Deitsch '22, Andre Golumbeski '24, Jackson Hutchison '23, David Lichter (Queens College), Richard Holmes (Professor Emeritus, Dartmouth)

Lab Alumni

cornell university

John Deitsch

Cornell University Class of 2022, Entomology, Biological Sciences - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Hubbard Brook Field Ornithology Program:
Artificial light at night increases top-down pressure on caterpillars: experimental evidence from a light-naïve forest

Awarded a Student Science Research Grant from the Rochester Academy of Sciences (RAS)
Awarded a Libbie H. Hyman Memorial Scholarship from the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biologists (SICB) to support his first field station experience at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest to conduct research on invertebrates
Awarded an Undergraduate Research Grant from the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Featured 2020-2021 Undergraduate Student Research Grant Award Winner (RAS eBulletin)
Featured 2020-2021 Undergraduate Researcher (SICB newsletter)

Follow John's work: https://jfdeitsch.wixsite.com/entomornithologist
Follow on Twitter: @DeitschJohn

Lindsey Forg

Cornell University Class of 2022, Environment & Sustainability

Hubbard Brook Field Ornithology Program:
DNA metabarcoding reveals within-season variation in the diet of the insectivorous black-throated blue warbler

Awarded an American Ornithological Society Research Award
Awarded an Undergraduate Research Grant from the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Collaborators:
Dr. Gemma Clucas, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Dr. Andrew Stillman, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Follow Lindsey's work: http://www.lindseyforgphotography.com/
Follow on Twitter: @ForgLindsey
Follow on Instagram: @lindsey.forg

Raisa Kochmaruk

Cornell University Class of 2021, Environment & Sustainability - Science Communication

Hubbard Brook Artist in Residence Program:
Scientific illustration series of female plumage variation and nestling development in the black-throated blue warbler

Hubbard Brook Mural

Collaborators:
Jillian Ditner, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Current position: Communications Specialist, Hubbard Brook Research Foundation

Follow Raisa's work: https://mondielle.com/
Follow on Twitter: @RKochmaruk
Follow on Instagram: @raisa_kochmaruk

Sophie Rabinowicz

Cornell University Class of 2021, Animal Science, Environment & Sustainability

Hubbard Brook Field Ornithology Program:
Impacts of research disturbance on avian nest defense behaviors and nest survival across a landscape of risk

Awarded an Undergraduate Research Grant from the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Maria Smith

Cornell University Class of 2016, Biological Sciences - Neurobiology and Behavior

REU topic: Functional variation in nest morphology and brooding behavior along a climate gradient

Received the prestigious Merrill Presidential Scholar Award from Cornell
Awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship for Fall 2017
Maria's first-authored paper "Variation in nest characteristics and brooding patterns by female Black-throated Blue Warblers is associated with thermal cues" was published in The Auk: Ornithological Advances!

Graduate school: Ph.D. Candidate, Princeton University (Dr. Christina Riehl's lab)

Dominique Hellmich

Cornell University Class of 2015, Biological Sciences - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Honors Thesis and REU topic: Role of top-down selection pressure by predators on lay-date adjustment in response to spring temperature

Received the Tanner Dean Scholars Research Grant
Received the Charles Tracy Fund for student research

Graduate school: Ph.D. Candidate, New Mexico State University (Dr. Timothy Wright's lab)
Follow on Twitter: @DominiqueHellm6

Sarah Rubenstein

Cornell University Class of 2015, Science of Natural Environmental Systems

Honors Thesis and REU topic: Linking personality traits to parental behaviors and reproductive success

Graduate school: M.S., Wildlife Ecology, University of Maine (Dr. Joseph Zydlewski's lab)
Professional position: Biological Science Technician, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Follow on Twitter: @srubenstein

Dr. Juliet Jacobson

Cornell University Class of 2016, Biological Sciences - General Biology

Lab-based training: Genotyping and paternity analyses

Professional School: New York Medical College
Follow on Twitter: @jacojuls

Dr. Kathryn Grabenstein

Cornell University Class of 2014, Biological Sciences - Neurobiology and Behavior

Honors Thesis and REU topic: Resource-dependent offspring sex allocation

Awarded the Cynthia Kagarise Sherman Undergraduate Research Award for an Outstanding Honors Thesis in Behavior
Runner-up in the Undergraduate Poster Competition at the 51st Annual Conference of the Animal Behavior Society, Princeton, NJ August 2014, "No experimental support for resource-dependent sex allocation in a migratory songbird".
Click here to learn more about her research in another system, the red-backed fairy wren
Awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship for Fall 2017

Graduate school: Ph.D., University of Colorado Boulder (Dr. Scott Taylor's lab)
Follow Kathryn's work: https://www.kathryngrabenstein.com/

Laura Stirling

Cornell University Class of 2011, Biological Sciences - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

REU topic: Implications of trill rate and bandwidth trade-offs in mate choice and male reproductive success

smithsonian conservation biology institute

Ellie Ezekiel

Franklin & Marshall College Class of 2017, Biology

REU topic: Prevalence of avian malaria in Old World tropical songbirds

Conor Harbeck

Franklin & Marshall College Class of 2017, Biology

REU topic: Offspring sex ratio bias in Old World tropical songbirds

hubbard brook research experience

Alisa Muniz

Humboldt State University Class of 2015, Wildlife Biology

REU project: Spatial and temporal variation in songbird nest predation

Ranked top 20 in the undergraduate poster competition at the 20th Annual Conference of The Wildlife Society in Milwaukee, WI

Andre Moncrieff

Andrews University Class of 2014, Music, Biology

Independent project: Song characteristics that predict extra-mating success

Awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship for Fall 2015

Graduate school: Ph.D. Candidate, Louisiana State University (Dr. Robb Brumfield's lab)
Follow on Twitter: @Andre_Moncrieff

Ryan Steiner

Frostburg State College Class of 2012

REU topic: Effect of food supplementation on avian incubation behavior and hatchling mass

Graduate school: M.S., University of Minnesota-Duluth (Dr. Gerald Niemi's lab)

Jessica Sutt

Warren Wilson College Class of 2011, Conservation Biology, Environmental Education

Honors Thesis and REU topic: Influence of food availability and female constraints on sex differences in parental care

Undergraduate thesis awarded 1st place at the North Carolina Academy of Science
Awarded Bonner Scholarship for summer fieldwork

Graduate school: M.S., Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, University of Florida '14
Professional position: ‎Refuge Operations Specialist at Florida Panther & Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuges, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Naples, FL

Dr. Lindsey Nietmann

Carlton College Class of 2009, Biology - Environmental Studies

Independent project: Vocal consistency and extra-pair mating success

Awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

Graduate school: Ph.D., University of Washington (Dr. Renee Ha's lab)
Professional position: Wildlife Biologist, Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Hawaii Department of Lands and Natural Resources

Alexa Trimble (Branesky)

Washington State University Class of 2009, Biological Sciences

Senior project: Effects of weather and climate on mating patterns in a migratory bird

Received Washington State University's Center for Environmental Research, Education, and Outreach Award (poster competition)

Current position: Trust and Safety Specialist, Rover.com (Pet Care)
Formerly Zoo Keeper at Roosevelt Park Zoo, Woodland Park Zoo, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, and Intern at Northwest Trek and Keauhou Bird Conservation Center