Ph.D. thesis successfully defended in Jan 2020
My research focuses on symbionts of birds. For my M.Sc. with Dr. Terry Galloway at the University of Manitoba, I studied chewing lice (Phthiraptera) infesting Canada geese and mallards. The main objective was to examine infestation parameters of louse species infesting these hosts. This led to the synonymization of Anatoecus dentatus (Scopoli) and Anatoecus icterodes (NItzsch) and to examining the spatial distribution of the of chewing lice on Canada geese and mallards. For my Ph.D. in the Proctor lab, I working on two main projects. The first involved the geographical distribution pattern and population genetics of ectosymbionts of non-migratory rock pigeons (Columba livia). The second examined the infestation parameters and population structure of quill mites (Syringophilidae) in the feathers of Ovenbirds (Seiurus aurocapilla).
Proctor Lab - where we put biodiversity under the microscope 