Malaak Alqaisi
Malaak is a junior studying biology and environmental sciences. She joined Ketterson Lab in 2022 through the Sustainability Scholars program to work on a project regarding how Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) impacts immune function in the Dark-eyed Junco. Currently, she is working with Sarah Wanamaker on the Window Strikes project, with a special focus on social sciences. She has released a survey to the Bloomington public to gauge public opinion regarding bird-building collisions in order to find a mutually beneficial solution to this pressing conservation issue.
Katherine Johnson
Katherine joined the Ketterson Lab in 2023, and is a senior studying cognitive science and animal behavior. She loves anything to do with birds, is an avid birder, and has worked with many species, including American Robins, Northern Saw-whet Owls, and Tree Swallows. Her primary work, however, is done in the Ketterson Lab, where she is working on an honors thesis studying the effects of Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) on the cognition and exploratory behavior of Dark-eyed Juncos.
Anna Kelson
Anna is a senior majoring in Animal Behavior with a minor in GIS and Remote Sensing. Since 2022, she has been working with Sarah Wanamaker on a long-term dark-eyed junco captive breeding project, focusing on how dietary diversity influences reproduction and comparing reproductive success between captive and wild juncos. Currently, Anna is completing an honors thesis analyzing nesting data from both captive and wild populations. After graduating, Anna hopes to study how anthropogenic effects on the environment impact reproduction, migration, and spatial distribution of wild bird populations.
Ariel Tysver (graduated Spring 2024)
Ariel recently graduated from the undergraduate program in Animal Behavior at IU. Her primary interest is in host-parasite dynamics and how anthropogenic manipulations change these dynamics. Her honors thesis study explores how exposure to artificial light at night (ALAN) impacts infection loads of a common gastrointestinal parasite, coccidia, in the dark-eyed junco. She is also interested in how the immune system and leukocyte profiles respond to exposure to ALAN. She is currently attending North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine to pursue her DVM degree. She hopes to work in conservation medicine or infectious disease research in the future.