Todd M. Jones, PhD

       Urbanization and anthropogenically induced climate change are two of the most significant causes of environmental change facing avian species worldwide. Consequently, understanding phenotypic and behavioral responses of birds to factors associated with urbanization and climate change may be essential for future conservation of avian biodiversity and the landscapes they inhabit.  

        For my undergraduate thesis at The Ohio State University, I examined the impact of urbanization on the relationship of male coloration and fitness in the Northern Cardinal. Specifically, how the relationship varied across an urban-to-rural gradient in central-Ohio, USA. As a postdoctoral research associate at Texas A&M University-San Antonio, I examined variation in key morphological traits (body and eye size) across edge and core urban areas of the San Antonio metropolitan area. Similarly, I am collaborating with researchers from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Cornell Lab of Ornithology to examine juvenile behavioral responses (fledging) to urbanization in central-Ohio. Finally, as a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, I am currently collaborating with researchers at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest to examine avian responses to climate induced environmental change (changes in spring temperature, start of fall, precipitation, and predator communities).