Dr. Brawn's research emphasizes the conservation and population-community biology of birds in both North America and the tropics. Current projects in the Midwest U.S. investigate how avian communities respond to periodic disturbance (especially prescribed fire), fragmentation, and ecosystem restoration. Dr. Brawn also has ongoing research projects in the Republic of Panama , dealing with the demography/ reproductive ecology and community ecology of resident birds. Other areas of interest include: comparative demography of temperate and tropical birds; evolution of life history traits - especially dispersal and clutch size; demography and conservation of small populations; ecology of urbanization; ecotoxicology (including West Nile Virus). Many students in the Brawn lab do not work on birds, however, and have developed independent questions ranging from sexual selection in amphibians to the phylogeography of butterflies.

Dr. Brawn is currently the Director of the Program in Ecology and Evolution. His previous UMEB students include Josh Brown and Cathy Yu.

Email Dr. Brawn or visit his website.

Dr. Evan DeLucia

The adaptive physiology of trees and the role of forests in the global carbon cycle are at the center of DeLucia's research interests. A main thrust of his current research is to determine how elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide influences physiological processes and carbon flux in forest ecosystems. A recent publication in the journal Science describes the first estimate of the direct effect of elevated carbon dioxide on forest productivity. Current research projects also include the influence of global change on crop physiology and chlorophyll fluorescence. DeLucia's students are also exploring the potential influences of global change on plant-insect interactions and the effects of non-native species on ecosystem function.