Zoom Recording: You are what you eat: Stable isotopes reveal dietary variation in Great Black-backed Gulls, with Dr. Kristen Covino

The recording of this program from 2 Apr 2024 is now available online

You are what you eat: Stable isotopes reveal dietary variation in Great Black-backed Gulls, with Dr. Kristen Covino

The presentation argues for the need to study diet in gulls and presents current and ongoing research on the diet of Great Black-backed Gulls. In this research we include the use of stable isotope analyses of the feathers to investigate variations in adults and chicks. We will review recent findings which indicate that adult gulls may differ in what they feed their chicks, and may preferentially feed the first-to-hatch chick higher quality food items.

Dr. Kristen Covino earned her B.S. degree in Biology from Canisius College in Buffalo, NY, her M.S. in Biology/Zoology from the University of Maine, Orono, and her Ph.D. from the University of Southern Mississippi where she investigated physiological breeding development in migrating songbirds. She is currently an Associate Professor of Biology at Loyola Marymount University. Her research ranges from in depth studies of avian physiology and endocrinology to continental-scale migratory movements. Professor Covino’s pedagogical interests include integrating active and team-learning activities into traditional lectures, incorporating science communication into her courses, and mentoring undergraduate researchers. She teaches a summer Field Ornithology course at the Shoals Marine Laboratory (Cornell University) on Appledore Island, Maine, where she also co-manages the Appledore Island Bird Banding Station and collaborates with the Gulls of Appledore Research Group. Dr. Covino also partners with the Friends of Ballona Wetlands and the Bear Divide Banding Station group on several LA-based research projects. Professor Covino’s research has been published in numerous professional journals including Hormones and Behavior, General and Comparative Endocrinology, AUK: Ornithological Advances, and The Journal of Ornithology.  Dr. Covino receives funding from the Foster (SMBAS) endowment at Loyola.