Isabel Cristina Caballero

Department of Biological Sciences
University of Illinois at Chicago
&  Division of Birds
The Field Museum



Advisors: Mary Ashley (UIC), John Bates (FMNH)

Research Interests: Population Genetics, Molecular Systematics and Conservation Biology

Contact information: icabal2@uic.edu
Tolmomyias sulphurescens
Photo © Oliver Komar

Ongoing projects:

Molecular phylogenetics of the genus Tolmomyias (Aves, Tyrannidae) (with J. Tello, R. Bowie, T. Schulenberg, and J. Bates)
Web site at the Field Museum

DNA analysis of population structure and subspecies composition of reestablished Peregrine Falcon (Aves, Falconidae) populations in the Midwest (with M. Hennen, M. Ashley and J.Bates): Ecosystem-wide chlorinated hydrocarbon poisoning, which began in the 1940s, nearly caused the extirpation of Peregrine Falcon populations in North America. The genetic analysis of populations of Peregrine Falcon before and after the 1950s from museum specimens and extant populations will provide valuable information regarding the demographic and genetic shifts accompanying the extirpation and reintroduction of Peregrine Falcons in the Midwestern United States. I am planning to evaluate genetic variability in prebotteneck and postbottlenek populations using microsatellite genotyping and sequencing. The research will clarify whether genetic differentiation existed among founding stock, and whether that structure corresponded to subspecific designations, and assess the current genetic status of the Midwestern Peregrine Falcons.

Links

Mary Ashley
John Bates
Monitoring endangered Peregrines in Chicago
More on Tolmomyias