Julian is a PhD student in the Graduate Group in Ecology at UC Davis. They received a B.S. with honors in Earth Systems from Stanford University in 2020. At Stanford, they were a member of Rodolfo Dirzo’s lab studying the demographic consequences of climate change on landbirds in the Bay Area. After graduating, Julian worked as the bander-in-charge at the Cape May Songbird Stopover Project and then returned to the Bay Area to help manage banding operations and training at the Coyote Creek Field Station.

Julian’s favorite ornithological topic is molt, the stage of the annual cycle where birds replace their plumage. While molt is critical for self maintenance, little is known on how climate change is affecting this process. With support from the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, Julian will study the phenology of molt in landbirds across a climate gradient as well as use long-term banding data to assess regional and temporal trends. Julian is also curious how applied molt research may help support the recovery of at-risk birds through conservation interventions that improve feather quality and therefore survival. 

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