20 Nov 2011. A paper on the phylogeography of the Rufous-tailed Hummingbird is published in the Condor.You can download the reprint
HERE. This paper lays the foundation for exploring the species-status of the Escudo Hummingbird. We are nearly completion on a follow-up manuscript that will confirm our findings of the antiquity of this island endemic.
15 Oct 2011. Our collaborative Influenza project is renewed for another year. Wayra is working on our in-country surveillance of influenza in our Naos facilty. We will return to the field for a three-month monitoring season starting in early January.
03 Oct 2011. I am participating in a workshop on next-generation sequencing at the National Museum of Natural History, at the Smithsonian mothership in Washington DC. I'm looking forward to learning ways to incorporate these new, powerful techniques into my research workflow.
07 June 2011. New members of our team! We welcome Wayra Navia (molecular diagnosis of avian diseases), Claudia Rosales (AFLPs of Panama contact zones), Betzaida Toribio (collections intern), Jorge Garzon (collections intern), and Sitka Pucani Miller-Guitton (my newborn girl, born 27th of April) to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Bird Collection team! Later this month, Sara Lipshutz will join us to help with the next-round of influenza work and to study the behavioral dynamics of the
Jacana hybrid zone.
01 June 2011. Two papers accepted. A paper on the birds of the Rio Piñas area of Darien, Panama and a paper on the phylogeography of the Rufous-tailed Hummingbird have both been accepted for publication. I'll post pdfs when proofs are available, but I'm happy to provide unformatted drafts for anyone interested.
20 Dec 2010. Our collaborative tropical disease ecology group won a Smithsonian Grand Challenges Award (100,000 USD) to investigate the ecology of ticks and vertebrate biodiversity in Central Panama. Our collections of ticks from birds over the last three years will play a critical role in this project.
07 December 2010. Juan Camilo Chaves' paper on species limits in Myrmeciza laemostica in print at The Condor. You can download a reprint HERE. I'm fond of this paper, the first to my knowledge to combine song data and genetic data to determine species limits in antbirds.
