Diana Humple

Diana is interested in the applications of population genetics, ecological research, and population monitoring toward bird conservation. One element of particular interest involves ascertaining population-level impacts of oil spills on seabirds. With regards to current research on this topic in the Girman Lab, she is examining patterns of genetic connectivity between coastally wintering Western Grebes (Aechmophorus occidentalis) and corresponding inland breeding populations. Western Grebes are a migratory species and are one of the most common bird species to be impacted by oil spills in California. To accomplish this objective, she will use microsatellites to first differentiate breeding populations, and then will attempt to determine the genetic associations between breeding and wintering sites. This will increase demographic knowledge as to which breeding populations are impacted when coastally wintering birds are affected during oil spills and direct biologists towards appropriate breeding colonies for monitoring and restoration in attempts to mitigate oil spill effects.

Other interests of hers have focused considerably on songbird population monitoring - including in central coastal California, the northern Sierras, and shrub-steppe habitat throughout the West – and on the training of intern biologists in avian field techniques, especially bird banding and mist-netting at the Point Reyes Bird Observatory.