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I am a PhD student in the Ketterson lab. I am broadly interested in how animal migration can foster speciation. Specifically, I study the behavioral and physiological mechanisms of diverging populations that differ in migratory behavior-- some birds migrate, while others are sedentary. I study these mechanisms in a small songbird in both the field and the lab. My science is motivated by my general interest in animal behavior and evolutionary biology, as well as my hope to better understand how natural populations will be affected by global change. Additionally, I am passionate about teaching and outreach and I am excited to share my love of science with more people through ScIU!

Entries by Abby Kimmitt

From models to the world’s biodiversity: How a theoretical biologist predicts the effects of environmental change

Posted August 17, 2019 by Abby Kimmitt

Dr. Jason Bertram is sitting at his desk working on his laptop. On the screen, you can see graphs that exhibit models that are showing how populations might respond to different environmental challenges.

Upon establishing the Environmental Resilience Institute (ERI) at Indiana University, the leaders and visionaries reported four main goals. The first goal stated that the supported research would create “accurate predictions about coming changes in weather patterns, water, plants and animals, and disease risk.” This goal focused on directly predicting what Hoosiers would have to face,… Read more »

When the things we can’t see matter: the plant vs. environmental change edition

Posted April 16, 2019 by Abby Kimmitt

Mark Hammond is planting seeds in a large pot filled with soil for the mesocosm experiment. Pots are lined up in two rows on shelving in a greenhouse. Another lab assistant is planting seeds in another pot in the background.

Farmers are facing new challenges in the age of global change. Drought is a major stressor for crops in Indiana and other regions of the U.S. and is forcing farmers to face the question: to irrigate or not to irrigate? Irrigation equipment is incredibly expensive, but is often the best quick solution to water crops… Read more »

How cutting edge technology can help us understand animal migration

Posted September 4, 2018 by Abby Kimmitt

Two undergraduates are working on the device they created to measure the cardinal direction of flight of a moth. One undergrad is adjusting the moth attached to the device; the other undergraduate is checking the computer to make sure it is ready to record data

Scientists have long been interested in understanding animal migration, but gathering migration data proved difficult in the past. For example, the process of catching and recapturing migratory songbirds using mist nets is a laborious process. In the past, recovering songbirds produced data only about the breeding location and their migration destination, and rarely about the migration itself.  Studying… Read more »

The grand challenge to prepare Indiana for environmental change… and the hope behind it

Posted March 27, 2018 by Abby Kimmitt

The logo for the Environmental Resilience Institute, which is an artistic representation of the state of Indiana. The logo is an outline of the state with drawings of wildlife, wind turbines, farms and a city skyline included in the borders. It is accompanied with the words: “Prepared for Change: Resilient Ecosystems, Livable Communities, and Healthy Hoosiers”

Typically when you think about a bunch of academics discussing environmental change, it has an air of doom and gloom. The projections aren’t promising: the global temperature is predicted to rise 0.2 °C each decade, resulting mainly from anthropogenic increases in greenhouse gases, and this will continue to result in rising sea levels and unpredictable,… Read more »

Climate change: Adapt or die

Posted August 15, 2017 by Abby Kimmitt

My research is dependent on migratory birds being present on their wintering grounds in the Appalachian Mountains in the month of March. But this year it was an unseasonably warm winter, and it was not possible to know when migrants would depart for their breeding grounds. Luckily, the temperatures dropped again and the migrants hung… Read more »

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