People - Graduate Students

Andrea Kudrez Townsend

(Cornell Ph.D. Candidate)

West Nile virus and Behavioral Ecology of American Crows

My primary research interests are in the evolution and maintenance of social behavior in birds. Specifically, I seek to discover why should birds cooperate, and under what conditions such altruism will be adaptive.

Currently, I am examining the effects of West Nile Virus on cooperative social groups of American Crows (Corvus brachyrhyncos). Crows are the only cooperatively-breeding bird in the Northeastern United States: frequently, adult offspring remain with their parents and help them to raise their younger siblings. In 2002 and 2003, a West Nile Virus epidemic struck our marked population of crows in Ithaca, NY, killing approximately 35% of these generally long-lived birds each year.

Using microsatellite markers to examine paternity and relatedness, combined with intensive behavioral observations, I am addressing:

1. how West Nile Virus influences the reproductive strategies of social breeding groups.

2. how reproductive strategies have affected susceptibility to West Nile Virus (e.g., does the level of extra-pair paternity in a brood affect disease susceptibility?).

3. how reproductive strategy influences cooperation and conflict among family members.

American Crows allopreening.

Photo courtesy of KJ McGowan.

Caribbean Conservation/ Phylogeography

An additional interest of mine is the conservation of endemic island birds. One way of promoting and directing conservation efforts is to identify genetically unique and important populations of birds that are in danger of extinction. To this end, I am conducting genetic studies of bird populations on the poorly-studied Caribbean island of Hispaniola. With the help of collaborators, I have collected rare genetic samples and morphological measurements from birds throughout Haiti and the Dominican Republic. I am currently using molecular and statistical techniques to identify phylogeographic patterns and unique, endangered populations. I am also using these data to shed light on possible geographic forces behind the high degree of genetic structure on this island.

The species that I am currently studying include the Broad- and Narrow-billed Todies (Todus subulatus and angustirostris); the Chat-tanagers (Calyptophilus tertius and frugivorus); the Hispaniolan Ground-tanager (Microligea palustris) and White-winged Tanager (Xenoligea montana); and the Gray and Black-crowned Palm-tanagers (Phaenicophilus poliocephalus and palmarum).

Narrow-billed Tody

Western Chat-tanager & Narrow-billed Tody

Prior to our 2004-2005 expeditions, no genetic samples of birds had ever been collected in Haiti. Field work in Haiti is logistically difficult in this politically unstable country. Our work represents an important contribution to conservation efforts in the critically-endangered Haitian forest habitat

Collaborators and guides in Massif de la Hotte, Haiti