Postdoc

CEFE/CNRS

Campus du CNRS

1919, route de Mende
34293 Montpellier cedex 5

jessica.graham(at)cefe.cnrs.fr

Google Site

Education:

08/2013 – 05/2018: Ph.D., Environmental and Conservation Sciences, North Dakota State University.

08/2015 – 05/2017: College Teaching Certificate Program, North Dakota State University

08/2008 – 05/2013: B.S., Natural Resource Sciences, Washington State University. Major: Wildlife Ecology, Minor: Zoology

Research Interests

I am interested in understanding how seasonal breeders time reproduction appropriately. Organisms have evolved over millions of years to breed when conditions are best for raising young. However, climate change and urbanization result in rapid environmental changes. By understanding the specific mechanisms involved in timing of reproduction, we can begin to understand how they will adapt to a changing world. In addition to understanding timing of reproduction at the population level, I am also interested in individual variation. In seasonal breeders, we see highest reproductive success occurring early in the season, when few individuals are breeding. This suggests there are costs to breeding early that prevent the majority of individuals from breeding at this optimal time. However, the costs are not well understood.

My research takes place at many levels, including:

Publications

Bauer, C.M., Graham, J.L., Abolins-Abols, M., Heidinger, B.J., Ketterson, E.D., Greives, T.J. 2018. Chronological and Biological Age Predict Seasonal Reproductive Timing: An Investigation of Clutch Initiation and Telomeres in Birds of Known Age. American Naturalist 191(6): 777-782.

Graham, J.L., Cook, N.J., Needham, K.B., Hau, M., Greives, T.J. 2017. Early to Rise, Early to Breed: A role for daily rhythms in seasonal reproduction. Behavioral Ecology 28(5): 1266-1271.

Graham, J.L., Mady, R.P., Greives, T.J. 2017. Experimental immune activation using a mild antigen decreases reproductive success in free-living female Dark-eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis). Canadian Journal of Zoology 95(4): 263-269.

Bauer, C.M., Needham, K.B., Le, C.N., Stewart, E.C., Graham, J.L., Ketterson, E.D., Greives, T.J. 2016. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity is not elevated in a songbird (Junco hyemalis) preparing for migration. General and Comparative Endocrinology 232: 60-66.