I use whole genome sequencing and bioinformatics to study the influence of migration on population connectivity and on molecular evolution across boreal forest bird species. I extracted DNA and prepared sequencing libraries for hundreds of individuals across 34 boreal species. Using a population genomic dataset of over 1700 individuals, I analyze isolation-by-distance and geographic structure with bioinformatic programs including ANGSD. I also use this dataset to understand how seasonal migration influences the rate of molecular evolution in these species.
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I recently examined how migratory behavior and flight ability influence breeding range dynamics across all the songbirds in North America using species distribution modeling and museum-based morphometric measurements (Pegan and Winger 2020). Using the subset of North American bird species breeding in the boreal forest ecoregion, I also investigated the relationship between migratory behavior and life history (Winger and Pegan 2021). Both projects leveraged large datasets of ecological, geographic, and environmental data to test hypotheses in a multivariate statistical framework.
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My research questions are inspired by observation of birds in their environments. In the field, I have tracked bird movements (Pegan et al 2018, Areta et al 2021), performed experimental manipulations (Pegan et al 2019), and recorded natural history and behavioral observations (Pegan et al 2018, Gulson-Castillo, Pegan et al 2019).
Throughout my career, my research has utilized and contributed to natural history museum collections (Winkler, Pegan et al 2017). |