For anyone interested in joining the lab, please read our authorship guidelines [revised & updated Feb 2022].

Graduate Students:

I am always interested in hearing from prospective graduate students to my lab. As the other pages on this site probably make clear, the students that would make the best fit for my lab are those who are interested in pursuing big questions in ecology that somehow span the basic-applied divide, and employ integrative approaches. Students who have thrived under my mentorship are motivated, have experienced enough of scientific research to really understand if this pathway is for them, want to grow as independent thinkers, and with whom I’ve been able to develop a good rapport including open lines of communication. We mainly study birds, and mainly do so in grassland and Neotropical systems. The closer your interests and experiences are to these systems, the better likelihood that our scientific goals will coincide.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: I do not intend to recruit any more students at K-State. However, starting fall 2025, I will be beginning a new position at Western in London Ontario. I welcome inquiries from students interested in joining me there, especially Canadian students! I will be joining an extremely dynamic group of researchers there including those involved with the Centre for Animals on the Move and the Advanced Facility for Avian Research!

Post-docs:

I welcome inquiries from finishing PhD students who are exploring post-doctoral possibilities.  I am willing to work with you to find funding options depending upon your interests.

Undergraduates:

Are you interested in …?

  • gaining hands-on experience doing bird research in the outdoors?
  • getting involved in a lab to learn what research and grad school might be like?
  • earning your work-study funds doing something other than food service?
  • learning more about tropical ecology through literature-based projects or working with already-collected samples or data?
  • developing your research skills, including completion of an independent research project?

If so, there may be an opportunity for you. Depending on the time of year, goals and skills of the student, I may have projects suitable for internships, independent research, or credit.

What you should do:

Make sure you spend some time reading the information on this website and consider reading one or two of my papers. If you are still interested, please send me an email in which you describe what it is you hope to get out of working in my lab, and what degree and year you are in. Please also attach a document containing an up-to-date CV that lists relevant coursework and describes any research experience you have had (if any). We will meet and together develop a plan that includes clear expectations of the scientific goals of the work and expectations.