Graduate Students
Ivy Ciaburri, MS STUDENT (co-advised with Pete MArra, Georgetown University)
Zoe Korpi, MS STUDENT (CO-ADVISED WITH DR. STEVE MATTHEWS, OSU)
From a young age, I have always been extremely interested in animals and nature, so when I started my undergraduate studies, I was drawn to a lab that focused on colonial nesting water birds in the Great Lakes. It wasn’t until I banded my first Northern Saw-whet Owl as an intern with Project Owlnet in 2018 that I truly fell in love with birds and avian ecology. I graduated from the Pennsylvania State University in 2019 with a degree in Biology and again found myself banding migratory owls, but this time from coastal Maine. Then in 2021, I began working with the Northeast Motus Collaboration and the avian research program at a land trust outside of Philadelphia. Along with banding songbirds, I also assisted with maintaining and growing the Northeast network of Motus receiving towers, which track tagged wildlife as a part of the Motus Wildlife Tracking System. It was through this work with Motus that I found Dr. Chris Tonra at the Ohio State University. As a Master’s student in the Tonra lab, I’m studying the lake crossing behavior of small migratory songbirds including White-throated Sparrows, Blackpoll Warblers, Magnolia Warblers, Tennessee Warblers, and Swainson’s Thrush using Motus to evaluate the potential impact of offshore wind energy on their movements across Lake Erie.
email: korpi.11 [at] buckeyemail.osu.edu |
Brian Tsuru, MS STUDENT
I’ve been passionate about birds and nature for a long time, and am excited that my journey as a biologist has brought me to the Tonra Lab here at OSU! The first formal step in that journey came when I graduated from the University of Chicago in 2018, where I majored in Biology with a specialization in Ecology and Evolution. After graduating, I worked with migratory raptors in the San Francisco Bay Area, and banded songbirds in southern Oregon. When not in the field, I was back in Chicago continuing my work as a research assistant at the Field Museum of Natural History, utilizing the collections to examine tropical bird evolution and biogeography, as well as work with the local urban Peregrine Falcon population. All of these experiences were pivotal in shaping my interest in avian ecology, and motivated me to join the Tonra Lab as an MS student. I’m excited to be continuing the lab’s long-term research on the annual cycle of the Prothonotary Warbler, and to be filling more gaps in our understanding of the ecology of these brilliant birds!
email: tsuru.1 [at] osu.edu |
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Gautam Apte, Research Distinction
Gautam is working on a project examining variation in migratory behavior in Song Sparrows.
Anna Rose, Honors Research Distinction
Anna is working on a project examining winter habitat selection in White-throated Sparrows.
Lab Alumni
Graduate
JaY Wright, PhD (Graduated Spring 2022; (CO-ADVISED WITH DR. STEVE MATTHEWS, OSU)Dissertation: Dynamics of a seed dispersal mutualism between avian seed-hoarders and nut-bearing trees: Implications for oak management and American chestnut restoration
Jay is now the Director of Conservation Science at Toledo Metroparks. Jo Peacock, PhD (GRADUATED Spring 2022; co-advised with Dr. Matt Davies, OSU)Dissertation: Effects of Ecological and Agricultural Disturbance on Forest-Grassland Ecotones and Wildlife in Beni, Bolivia: Consequences for Restoration, Conservation and Sustainable Ranching
Jo has joined the faculty of The Ohio State University as a Tenure-track Assistant Professor |
Undergraduate
Tyler Ficker, B.S. w/Research Distinction (Graduated Spring 20)
Building characteristics predictive of high bird collision rates on The Ohio State University’s campus.
Kandace Glanville, B.S. w/Research Distinction (Graduated Spring 2019)
Lights Out Buckeyes – factors influencing avian window collisions.
Kaitlin Carr, B.S. w/Research Distinction (Graduated Spring 2018)
Estimating seasonal avian diversity in an urban wetland in Columbus, Ohio.