I am studying the role of plant secondary metabolites in flower nectar on pollinator foraging behavior. I work with cardenolides, the compounds that make milkweeds toxic and also occur in flower nectar, as well as caffeine which occurs in citrus and coffee flower nectar and ethanol which is a common product of nectar fermentation by microbes. I am interested in how these different compounds may change pollinator behavior in ways that influence plant pollination.

Using long-term data to understand impacts of climate change in seabirds

Data have been collected on Leach’s storm-petrels, Hydrobates leucorhous, at the Bowdoin Scientific Station on Kent Island since 1953. I now continue the annual collection of this long-term dataset. I am currently using this data to study how egg lay-date is impacted by intersections between climate change and coordination between mates. Additionally I collaborate with scientists from the Canadian Wildlife Service to collect data on foraging areas, population demographics and survival to facilitate conservation planning for this species.