My research interests focus on the stopover ecology of Trans-gulf Neotropical migrant passerines. Each fall these birds travel thousands of kilometers and complete an 18-24 hour nonstop flight across the Gulf of Mexico. Suitable coastal sites on the southern side of the gulf (e.g. Yucatan Peninsula) are required by birds to replenish energy reserves and rest after crossing the gulf. Habitat disturbance, such as land use conversion (e.g., urbanization, cultivation) and fragmentation, are common in coastal regions as they tend to attract high densities of humans. My research examines (1) how birds select stopover sites among disturbed and undisturbed coastal habitats (coastal dunes and mangroves) along the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico during fall migration, and (2) how a bird's choice of habitat is influenced by attributes of the environment (distribution and abundance of predators, competitors, food resources, and shelter) and the individual (species, sex, age, energetic state).
Additionally, I am collaborating with Fernando Urbina Torres (Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Morelos) to describe species-habitat relationships and community dynamics along a successional gradient in low-stature deciduous forests in Morelos, Mexico.
PUBLICATIONS:
Deppe, J. L., W. J. Dress, A. J. Nastase, S. J. Newell, and C. S. Luciano. 2000. Diel variation of sugar abundance in nectar from pitchers of Sarracenia purpurea L. with and without insect visitors. Am. Midl. Nat. 144:123-132.
RECENT PRESENTATIONS:
Reichart, L., A. J. Nastase, J. L. Deppe, and D. F. Westneat. Genetic analysis of alternative reproductive strategies in Hirundo pyrrhonota.