The Daily Bulletin Archive

Please join the Biology Department and the Great Lakes Center for the seminar "Linking Behavior and Biodiversity in Birds," presented by Daniel Baldassarre, assistant professor of zoology in the Department of Biological Sciences at SUNY Oswego, today, March 6, from 2:00 to 2:50 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 214. All students, staff, and faculty are welcome.

Abstract
I am interested in animal behavior and biodiversity, and especially love studying birds. To study avian biodiversity, I focus on small populations of birds and look for connections between unusual behaviors and broad-scale patterns. For example, how does the promiscuous sexual behavior of subspecies of the Australian red-backed fairy-wren affect whether or not they will interbreed? Does the Galápagos vampire finch’s bizarre habit of drinking blood mean it is on a trajectory to become a new species? In the southwestern United States, is the phainopepla really two cryptic species that breed in different locations at different times of the year?