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PI

Clinton D Francis (he/him/his)

Associate Professor

Dept. of Biological Sciences    

Cal Poly State University

1 Grand Ave

San Luis Obispo, CA 93407

cdfranci[at]calpoly.edu

 

PREPARATION & EDUCATION

Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship - Max Planck Institute for Ornithology

Postdoc - National Evolutionary Synthesis Center

PhD & MA - University of Colorado

BA - Pacific University

In addition to participating in the research described on this site with other lab members, Clint also teaches Ornithology and various ecology classes at Cal Poly.

Alissa Petrelli, CalPoly MS Student

Alissa Petrelli, CalPoly MS Student

Alissa worked on a large interdisciplinary project focused on how soundscapes mediate interactions between wildlife and humans, especially in protected areas.

TracyMulholland, CalPoly MS Student

TracyMulholland, CalPoly MS Student

Tracy used our 220 box strong nest box system to experimentally determine the cost of traffic noise on breeding birds.

BenDavidson, Cal Poly MS Student

BenDavidson, Cal Poly MS Student

Ben's work focused on how vertebrate communities are structured by the acoustic environment

Kristen Andersen, Cal Poly Undergrad

Kristen Andersen, Cal Poly Undergrad

Kristen's senior project focused on how various environmental forces shape bat activity and bat communities

Kat Ivey, Cal Poly Undergraduate

Kat Ivey, Cal Poly Undergraduate

Kat conducted her senior project on junco territorial defense in a variety of acoustic environments.

Kelley Boland, Cal Poly Undergraduat

Kelley Boland, Cal Poly Undergraduat

Kelley's senior project focused on how anthropogenic noise affects provisioning behavior in several song birds. She also worked as a research assistant on our Natural Sounds Project.

Robert Heim, Cal Poly Undergraduate

Robert Heim, Cal Poly Undergraduate

Robert's senior thesis focused on brant-eelgrass interactions in Morro Bay, where eelgrass has declined by 97% in recent years. He also worked as a research assistant on our Natural Sounds Project and now attends graduate school at the Bren School for the Environment at UCSB.

Nikki Murphey

Nikki Murphey

Nikki worked on various projects in the lab and lead exploring work with insects and acoustics.

Haven Dlott, Cal Poly Undergraduate

Haven Dlott, Cal Poly Undergraduate

Haven worked on how songbirds change their vocal behavior in response to natural acoustics.

Gaby Antonova, CalPoly Undergraduate

Gaby Antonova, CalPoly Undergraduate

Gaby worked on how songbirds change their vocal behavior in response to natural acoustics.

Lab Members

Hold cursor over photo to learn about individual projects. 

Dr. Jennifer N. Phillips, Postdoc

Dr. Jennifer N. Phillips, Postdoc

Jenny is interested in how anthropogenic landscapes and soundscapes affect individual behavior, community dynamics, and evolution. She is now an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M San Antonio

Danielle Ferraro, MS Student

Danielle Ferraro, MS Student

Danielle studied the effects of anthropogenic impacts on wildlife and humans. Her graduate projects involved studying the effects of noise and light pollution on Western bluebirds and the effects of natural sounds on human experiences in nature. She is now an ecologist with CSU's Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands.

Josh Willems, MS student

Josh Willems, MS student

Josh's project focused on trying to understand the impacts that anthropogenic sound and light have on the behavior of small mammals and avian communities. Josh is now a PhD student at the University of New Hampshire

Waverly Davis, Undergraduate & Field Crew Leader

Waverly Davis, Undergraduate & Field Crew Leader

Waverly worked then led our field team in New Mexico on a project seeking to understand the combined influence of noise and light pollution on avian reproduction

Helen Payne, Undergraduate

Helen Payne, Undergraduate

Helen's senior project focused on how light and noise shape bat and insect communities. Helen is now a PhD student at UCSB

Ashley Wilson, MS student

Ashley Wilson, MS student

Ashley's thesis investigated the effects of noise and light on bird abundance using FeederWatch data and how light pollution affect pollination in Yucca. She is now the Director of Conservation at the International Dark Skies Association

Veronica Reed, MS student

Veronica Reed, MS student

Veronica worked on our Natural Sounds Project, and her thesis investigated how natural noise affects response to playback in Lazuli Buntings and Spotted Towhees and how natural sounds shape avian vocalizations. She is now USFWS Fish and Wildlife Biologist

Ryan Wardle, MS student

Ryan Wardle, MS student

Ryan's thesis investigates how natural sounds affect mammal communities and insect predation

Lab Alumni
Hold cursor over photo to learn about individual projects. 

Maggie Mackinlay, Graduate Student

Maggie Mackinlay, Graduate Student

Maggie's graduate research focuses on 1) movement ecology of fledgling songbirds in response to noise and light pollution and 2) how light pollution may influence avian eye geometries

Kerstin Ozkan, Graduate Student

Kerstin Ozkan, Graduate Student

Kerstin's graduate research focuses on how noise pollution influences nestling provisioning behavior and whether light pollution alters nestling development

Dr. Sarah Jennings, Frost Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Sarah Jennings, Frost Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Jennings will be joining the lab in September 2022. Lot's of exciting possibilities await!

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