Understanding the origins of diversity and why diversity varies over time and space are central goals in biology. These goals have been difficult to achieve, owing in part to the long time frame over which populations diverge and speciate, and the broad spatial scales over which diversity varies across the globe. The goal of my research programme is to investigate three central questions: (I) How do populations diverge from one another to evolve reproductive isolation that defines a speciation event?, (II) When and how do these new species expand their ranges to coexist with one another?, and (III) What causes broad geographic variation in patterns of diversity?

In my lab, we use field and aviary experiments, comparative analyses, meta-analyses, and behavioural, ecological, fossil, genetic, physiological, museum collection, and biogeographic datasets to address these goals. While we have a focus on field studies of birds, we will use data from any system to address questions of interest. Underlying all of our research is a theme of question-driven science that is grounded in a solid foundation and appreciation of natural history.

Please see my homepage for details and publications.