Panama PLUMAS (Precipitation and Land Use effects on Multiple Avian Species) is investigating the impacts of forest fragmentation and local climatic variation on bird species in Panama. Forest fragmentation and climate together may pose underappreciated threats in tropical bird species, and particularly in the more vulnerable understory birds. Panama PLUMAS has multiple projects which are being co
nducted on tropical forest birds along a fragmentation-rainfall gradient (18 sites) across the Isthmus of Panama. Using a variety of bird species, we are investigating everything from demography, sexual and natural selection, physiological variation, and cellular aging. Panama PLUMAS has received funding from University of Wyoming and National Geographic Society and is funded (2022-2025) by rhe United States National Science Foundation. Project founders/leaders:
[1] Dr. Corey Tarwater is currently an Assistant Professor at University of Wyoming. She has held postdoctoral research positions at University of California-Berkeley and University of British Columbia. Dr. Tarwater holds a Ph.D. (Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology) and M.S. (Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences) from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign as well as a B.S. in Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology from University of California-Davis. Dr. Tarwater has spent the 17 field seasons studying tropical birds.
[2] Dr. J. Patrick Kelley is a Research Scientist (full-time faculty) at the University of Wyoming, runs the Behavioral Complexity Lab, and has held postdoctoral research positions at University of British Columbia, Florida State University, and at University of California-Berkeley. Dr. Kelley holds a Ph.D. in Animal Behavior from University of California-Davis and a B.A. in Biology from Harvard University. Dr. Kelley has spent 20
field seasons studying bees, primates, and birds in the tropics.
