Research Interests
My interests lie at the
interface of evolutionary biology, microbiology and optics. I pursued two
related lines of inquiry for my Ph.D. research in Geoff
Hills lab at Auburn
University.
First, I studied the
physical basis of variation in structurally-based plumage color, at both an
inter- and intra-specific level.
Most of my work focused on non-iridescent structural color, but I have
recently been modeling the proximate and ultimate factors involved in
iridescent plumage color production in a wide variety of species.
Second, I studied the
effects of microbial communities on sexually selected plumage color. I have
shown through correlational and experimental work that colorful plumage in
eastern bluebirds can signal abundance of feather-degrading bacteria, but not
in the manner predicted by sexual selection theory.
Details of these ongoing
projects can be found in the publications listed on my CV.
In my post-doc with Steve
Beissinger
and Mary
Firestone
at UC-Berkeley, I will be focusing on the
mechanisms and evolutionary consequences of microbial infection of wild bird
eggs.
Email:mshawkeyATnatureDOTberkeleyDOTedu