Karie Decker
My current research interests lie in looking at how habitat quality can shape the evolution of life history strategies. Ecological factors such as predation, food availability, and disturbance can have profound effects on species diversity and persistence in a variety of ecosystems. An important time to assess these factors is during the breeding season. Understanding the role that each of these factors play can help reveal how species respond to variation in their environment. Specifically, I intend to look at how nest predation, food availability, and human disturbance influence various reproductive strategies (nesting success, clutch size, egg mass, nestling growth rates, and offspring sex ratios) of the Red-faced Warbler breeding in a unique high-elevation sky island habitat outside of Tucson. Ultimately, I seek to apply empirical research to conservation efforts and continue to extend what I have learned to the younger community.
