Research Interest: My dissertation research focuses on the causes and consequences of nest site selection in songbirds. I am ultimately interested in fitness consequences associated with nest site choices, and I am planning on interpreting my results in the context of individual nest site fidelity in order to make inferences about the adaptiveness of nest-site preferences. I am interested in understanding the ecological and environmental basis of nest site selection, and I examine how interspecific competition, nest predation, and microclimate influence nest site selection in open-cup nesting songbirds. I study the sordida subspecies of the Orange-crowned Warbler on Santa Catalina Island. I use an experimental approach to assess the relative importance of interspecific competition and nest predation on the selection of nest sites. I also collect detailed microclimate measurements at nests to identify the potential physiological costs of nest site selection.
PUBLICATIONS:
Isacch J.P., M. S. Bo, N. O. Maceira, M. R. Demaria and S. Peluc. 2003. Composition and seasonal changes of the bird community in the west pampa grasslands of Argentina. Journal of Field Ornithology. 74(1): 59-65.
Isacch, J. P., N.O. Maceira, M.S. Bo, M.R. Demarķa and S. Peluc. Bird-habitat relationship in semiarid natural grasslands and exotic pastures in the west pampa of Argentina (in press, Journal of Arid Environment)
Peluc, S and C. A. Parera. 2000. Germination Improvement of Atriplex nummularia seeds by pericarp elimination. SEED SCI. TECHNOL. 28 (3): 559-566.