Graduate Students
Ivy Ciaburri, MS STUDENT (co-advised with Pete MArra, Georgetown University)
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Ivy is working exploring carry-over effects from molt through the nonbreeding period in the American Redstart in Jamaica.
email: ciaburri.1 [at] buckeyemail.osu.edu |
Zoe Korpi, MS STUDENT (CO-ADVISED WITH DR. STEVE MATTHEWS, OSU)
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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
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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
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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 |
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ELIZABETH AMES, PHD (Graduated Summer 2021)Dissertation: Linking events across the annual cycle in a Neotropical migratory songbird of conservation concern, the Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea)
Liz is currently a Lecturer at The Ohio State University |
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Aaron Skinner, M.S. (GRADUATED Summer 2021)Thesis: Using GPS-Tracking to Fill Knowledge Gaps in the Full Annual Cycle of an Elusive Aerial Insectivore in Steep Decline
Aaron is currently a Fulbright Fellow and will be pursuing his Ph.D. at the University of British Columbia |
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Alicia Brunner, M.S. (Graduated Spring 2018)Thesis: Winter Ecology and Response to Environmental Change of a Neotropical Migratory Songbird: the Swainson’s Warbler
Alicia is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology |
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Kristie Stein, M.S. (Graduated Summer 2018)Thesis: Filling gaps in the full annual cycle of the Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Kristie is currently a Research Associate with the Southern Sierra Research Station |
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JaY Wright, M.S. (Graduated Autumn 2017)Thesis: Migration Ecology of a Declining Songbird, the Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus)
Jay has remained with the lab to pursue a PhD. |
Undergraduate
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Kevin Perozeni, B.S. w/Honors Research Distinction (Graduated Spring 21)Honors Thesis: Annual Survival of Winter Residents in an Urban Wetland
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Valerie Gaulke, B.S. w/Honors Research Distinction (Graduated Spring 21)Honors Thesis: Are Seasonal Interactions Mediated by Stress Responses in a Short-Distance Migratory Bird?
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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.
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ADAM CUPITO - B.s. w/ Research Distinction (Graduated Spring 18)Adam studied overwinter survival in relation to stress hormones in wintering sparrows.
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KAtherine Denune - B.S. W/ RESEARCH DISTINCTION (GRADUATED Autumn 18)Establishing a long-term avian survey to monitor restoration success.
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Kira Edic - B.S. W/ RESEARCH DISTINCTION (GRADUATED SPRING 17)Breeding success in relation to nestling physiological stress in Prothonotary Warblers at Hoover Reservoir in Delaware County, Ohio.
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