kedybala [at] ucdavis.edu
1053 Academic Surge

My research interests include wildlife population dynamics, conservation, restoration, and climate change. The focus of my dissertation research is on testing a bottom-up approach to climate change research, starting with the effects of weather on demographic rates and scaling up to the level of the population. I am applying this approach to a population of Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia gouldii) at the Palomarin Field Station in the Point Reyes National Seashore, in collaboration with PRBO Conservation Science. This research includes a radio-telemetry project investigating post-fledging survival rates and a mark-recapture analysis of a long-term mist-net data set, estimating seasonal survival rates in relation to weather factors. One of the immediate outcomes of this research will be a better understanding of the seasonal variation in survival rates of passerine birds, identifying critical "bottlenecks" during the annual cycle, and providing potential targets for conservation and management activities. Ultimately, I hope to be able to identify relationships between weather factors and seasonal demographic rates, as well as between demographic rates and the population's growth rate, in order to identify the likely net effect of future climate change on this population.

Kristen's research project

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