The lab on occasion engages on research projects a bit away from our main areas of expertise. Julie Jedlicka was an NSF postdoc in our group working on NGS approaches to study bird predation. The question was how does one determine what small predatory birds are eating? Julie overcame lots of technical challenges during this project, and together with Elaine Vo (former Integrative Biology student) they have now published the major component of that effort. You can read the paper here – PDF – the work is pretty cool.
The work also got picked up by various websites:
Wine-Friendy Poop! Bluebird Feces Key to Healthy Vineyards in …
Nature World News–Nov 26, 2016
The new study published in The Auk: Ornithological Advances led by Julie Jedlicka from Missouri Western State University, aims to study the …
Bluebirds’ poop proves their value to California vineyards
Popular Science–Nov 25, 2016
Julie Jedlicka, the lead author of the paper, has been studying the interactions of birds and vineyards for years. Her dissertation investigated …
DNA analysis of bluebird feces reveals benefits for vineyards
Science Daily–Nov 24, 2016
Julie Jedlicka of Missouri Western State University and her colleagues tackled this question using a new approach called “molecular scatology …