Our research sites

Thanks to collaborations with the Fairfield Conservation Department and the Nichols Improvement Association, we have 5 field sites across SHU's campus, Fairifeld, and Trumbull. We monitor over 80 boxes across these sites - and perhaps more next year!

Our first study: Integrative effects of supplemental feeding 

The primary focus of my research lab is studying early-life effects: effects of early-life environment on offspring behavior, growth, physiology and fitness. Our first study, which we kicked off in Summer 2025, asks about the integrative effects of supplemental feeding on bluebirds and house sparrows. Bluebirds and house sparrows have overlapping size, diet, phenology, and breeding patterns. However, bluebirds are native, and house sparrows are introduced and invasive across much of the world. 

This year, we ran a field experiment in which we added supplemental food to some nests. We then measured aspects of morphology and physiology in the nestlings, as well as survival. We'll be working hard in the lab this year to process our samples, and will repeat the experiment again next year for a bigger sample size. Results to come in the not-too-distant future!