Sometimes, when birds colonize islands … over evolutionary time they become flightless. Question is, why?
Brian is a 2nd year PhD student at Columbia University whose research focuses on combining phylogenetic analyses with community ecology to better understand processes of species accumulation at the community level. He is particularly interested in how these processes relate to niche conservatism and functional ecology. The majority of his previous research experiences have been with birds in the Solomon Islands, which is where he will be traveling again this summer for field work.
Kolombangara Island Biodiversity Conservation Association reserve protects all of the forest above 400m elevation on the island – which includes the global ranges of two endemic bird species – and is managed entirely by the local community. http://kolombangara.org
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