Biology ETDs

Publication Date

Summer 7-29-2025

Abstract

In this dissertation, I investigate drivers of adaptive evolution across spatial, temporal, and phylogenetic scales. Using a blend of fieldwork, morphological and physiological data, comparative analyses, and evolutionary modeling, I identify hidden constraints and eco-evolutionary signatures shaping avian diversity. In Chapter 1, I examine how Neotropical bird elevational ranges have shifted over deep time. Chapter 2 explores sexual dimorphism in Sandhill Cranes, showing how interactions between natural and sexual selection can modulate sex differences. Chapter 3 focuses on a novel form of cryptic sexual dimorphism, asking how different axes of sex-based trait divergence interact. Chapter 4 shifts to the community scale, treating biotic communities as host traits by characterizing the lung mycobiome of a North American bird assemblage and assessing patterns of host-microbe association. Together, these chapters offer an integrative view of how selection and constraint shape phenotypic and ecological diversity in birds.

Language

English

Keywords

elevation range, birds, phylogenetic comparative methods, biogeography, sexual dimorphism

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Biology

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

UNM Biology Department

First Committee Member (Chair)

Christopher Witt

Second Committee Member

Michael Andersen

Third Committee Member

Kenneth Whitney

Fourth Committee Member

Benjamin Freeman

Fifth Committee Member

Emma Goldberg

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Available for download on Thursday, July 29, 2027

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