Publications in VIVO

Co-author Network

Safran, Rebecca J Associate Professor

Positions

Associate Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Research Areas

Research

research overview

Dr. Safran is an integrative evolutionary behavioral and evolutionary ecologist. Her research is centered on the evolution of biological diversity, from molecular (genetics, hormones, antioxidants), individual (behavior, morphology), and population (gene flow, genetic structure) perspectives.

keywords

evolutionary and behavioral ecology, evolutionary biology, integrative biology, animal behavior, physiology, speciation

Publications

selected publications

chapter
conference proceeding
- Demonstrating causality among features of the integrated phenotype: changes in social interactivity and hormones are associated with experimental manipulation of a signal trait. American Zoologist. E132-E132. 2018
- Telomeres and maximum lifespan in birds. American Zoologist. E169-E169. 2017
- Stress response, gut microbial diversity, and sexual signals correlate with social interactions: A social network study in North American barn swallows. American Zoologist. E125-E125. 2016
- Measuring social interactions in barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) using Encounternet proximity tags. American Zoologist. E110-E110. 2015
journal article
- Microclimate and host body condition influence mite population growth in a wild bird-ectoparasite system. International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife. 301-308. 2018
- Demographic inference in barn swallows using whole-genome data shows signal for bottleneck and subspecies differentiation during the Holocene. Molecular Ecology. 4200-4212. 2018
- Experimental manipulation of a signal trait reveals complex phenotype-behaviour coordination. Scientific Reports. 2018
- Theory Meets Empiry: A Citation Network Analysis. Bioscience. 805-812. 2018
- Ventral colour, not tail streamer length, is associated with seasonal reproductive performance in a Chinese population of Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica gutturalis). Journal für Ornithologie. 675-685. 2018
- Transitions from Single- to Multi-Locus Processes during Speciation with Gene Flow. Genes. 2018
- Global song divergence in barn swallows (Hirundo rustica): exploring the roles of genetic, geographical and climatic distance in sympatry and allopatry. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 825-849. 2018
- Predictors and consequences of nest-switching behavior in Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica erythrogaster). Auk. 181-191. 2018
- The rate of telomere loss is related to maximum lifespan in birds. Philosophical Transactions B: Biological Sciences. 2018
- The Role of Seasonal Migration in Population Divergence and Reproductive Isolation. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 164-175. 2018
- Mechanisms of Assortative Mating in Speciation with Gene Flow: Connecting Theory and Empirical Research. American Naturalist. 1-20. 2018
- A communal catalogue reveals Earth's multiscale microbial diversity. Nature: New biology. 457-+. 2017
- Effects of assortative mate choice on the genomic and morphological structure of a hybrid zone between two bird subspecies. Molecular Ecology. 6430-6444. 2017
- Genomic variation across two barn swallow hybrid zones reveals traits associated with divergence in sympatry and allopatry. Molecular Ecology. 5676-5691. 2017
- An experimental test of the effect of brood size on glucocorticoid responses, parental investment, and offspring phenotype. General and Comparative Endocrinology. 97-106. 2017
- The importance of cross-validation, accuracy, and precision for measuring plumage color: A comment on Vaquero-Alba et al. (2016). Auk. 34-38. 2017
- Transitions between phases of genomic differentiation during stick-insect speciation. Nature Ecology and Evolution. 2017
- Disruptive selection on plumage coloration across genetically determined morphs. Animal Behaviour. 97-108. 2017
- Comparative analysis reveals migratory swallows (Hirundinidae) have less pointed wings than residents. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 228-235. 2017
- Phenotypic differentiation is associated with divergent sexual selection among closely related barn swallow populations. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 2410-2421. 2016
- Evolutionary Genetics: Small Genomic Regions Make a Big Impact. Current Biology. R1155-R1157. 2016
- Cognitive Phenotypes and the Evolution of Animal Decisions. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 850-859. 2016
- The maintenance of phenotypic divergence through sexual selection: An experimental study in barn swallows Hirundo rustica. Evolution. 2074-2084. 2016
- Genome-wide differentiation in closely related populations: the roles of selection and geographic isolation. Molecular Ecology. 3865-3883. 2016
- Genome-wide differentiation in closely related populations: the roles of selection and geographic isolation.. Molecular Ecology. 3865-3883. 2016
- Piecing together female extra-pair mate choice: females really do prefer more ornamented males. Molecular Ecology. 3521-3524. 2016
- Stress response, gut microbial diversity and sexual signals correlate with social interactions. Biology Letters. 2016
- Genomic approaches to understanding population divergence and speciation in birds. Auk. 13-30. 2016
- Signal Traits and Oxidative Stress: A Comparative Study across Populations with Divergent Signals. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 2016
- Parents respond in sex-specific and dynamic ways to nestling ectoparasites. Animal Behaviour. 187-196. 2015
- Multimodal signalling in the North American barn swallow: a phenotype network approach. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 2015
- Performance of Encounternet Tags: Field Tests of Miniaturized Proximity Loggers for Use on Small Birds. PLoS ONE. 2015
- Quantitative genetics of plumage color: lifetime effects of early nest environment on a colorful sexual signal. Ecology and Evolution. 3436-3449. 2015
- Expression of Multiple Sexual Signals by Fathers and Sons in the East-Mediterranean Barn Swallow: Are Advertising Strategies Heritable?. PLoS ONE. 2015
- How acoustic signals scale with individual body size: common trends across diverse taxa. Behavioral Ecology. 168-177. 2015
- Quantitative color variation within and across morphs of the polymorphic White-throated Sparrow. Auk. 92-104. 2015
- An integrative view of the signaling phenotype: Dynamic links between signals, physiology, behavior and social context. Current Zoology. 739-754. 2014
- Ecological and evolutionary connections between morphology, physiology, and behavior. Current Zoology. 736-738. 2014
- The Role of Ecology in Speciation by Sexual Selection: A Systematic Empirical Review.. Journal of Heredity. 782-794. 2014
- Patterns and ecological predictors of age-related performance in female North American barn swallows, Hirundo rustica erythrogaster. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 1883-1892. 2014
- Stress and success: Individual differences in the glucocorticoid stress response predict behavior and reproductive success under high predation risk. Hormones and Behavior. 812-819. 2014
- An experimental analysis of the heritability of variation in glucocorticoid concentrations in a wild avian population. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 2014
- The Role of Ecology in Speciation by Sexual Selection: A Systematic Empirical Review. Journal of Heredity. 782-794. 2014
- Conceptual Revision and Synthesis of Proximate Factors Associated with Age-Related Improvement in Reproduction. Ethology. 411-426. 2014
- Environmental harshness is positively correlated with intraspecific divergence in mammals and birds. Molecular Ecology. 259-268. 2014
- Geographic variation in sexual selection and implications for speciation in the Barn Swallow. Avian Research. 2014
- Impact of a pre-lab, a write-to-learn post lab, and content reduction on evolution-based learning in an undergraduate plant biodiversity lab. 2014
- Contributions of natural and sexual selection to the evolution of premating reproductive isolation: a research agenda. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 643-650. 2013
- Female plumage colour influences seasonal oxidative damage and testosterone profiles in a songbird. Biology Letters. 2013
- Multiple Sexual Signals and Behavioral Reproductive Isolation in a Diverging Population. American Naturalist. 514-523. 2013
- Sexual selection accelerates signal evolution during speciation in birds. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 2013
- Signaling stress? An analysis of phaeomelanin-based plumage color and individual corticosterone levels at two temporal scales in North American barn swallows, Hirundo rustica erythrogaster. Hormones and Behavior. 665-672. 2013
- Variation in the temporal and spatial use of signals and its implications for multimodal communication. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 1499-1511. 2013
- Evolutionary divergence in acoustic signals: causes and consequences. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 156-166. 2013
- Signal color drives seasonal oxidative stress and testosterone profiles in a songbird. American Zoologist. E182-E182. 2012
- Sexual Signaling: Climatic Carry-Over. Current Biology. R61-R63. 2012
- A robust new metric of phenotypic distance to estimate and compare multiple trait differences among populations. Current Zoology. 426-439. 2012
- Population Genetics and Morphological Comparisons of Migratory European (Hirundo rustica rustica) and Sedentary East-Mediterranean (Hirundo rustica transitiva) Barn Swallows. Journal of Heredity. 55-63. 2012
- Low Variation in the Polymorphic Clock Gene Poly-Q Region Despite Population Genetic Structure across Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) Populations. PLoS ONE. 2011
- The sexual signals of the East-Mediterranean barn swallow: a different swallow tale. Behavioral Ecology. 1344-1352. 2011
- Age before beauty? Relationships between fertilization success and age-dependent ornaments in barn swallows. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 1687-1697. 2011
- POPULATION GENETICS OF A RECENT TRANSCONTINENTAL COLONIZATION OF SOUTH AMERICA BY BREEDING BARN SWALLOWS (HIRUNDO RUSTICA). Auk. 506-513. 2011
- Pterin-based ornamental coloration predicts yolk antioxidant levels in female striped plateau lizards (Sceloporus virgatus). Journal of Animal Ecology. 519-527. 2011
- The dynamics of physiology-trait relationships: implications for honest signal theory. American Zoologist. E121-E121. 2011
- Sexual selection: a dynamic state of affairs Response to the comments of Cornwallis and Uller in the article: Towards an evolutionary ecology of sexual traits. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 429-430. 2010
- Egg-yolk androgen and carotenoid deposition as a function of maternal social environment in barn swallows Hirundo rustica. Journal of Avian Biology. 470-478. 2010
- Phylogeny of the genus Hirundo and the Barn Swallow subspecies complex. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 409-418. 2010
- Vertebrate pigmentation: from underlying genes to adaptive function. Trends in Genetics. 231-239. 2010
- Positive Carotenoid Balance Correlates with Greater Reproductive Performance in a Wild Bird. PLoS ONE. 2010
- Morphological and genetic predictors of parental care in the North American barn swallow Hirundo rustica erythrogaster. Journal of Avian Biology. 74-82. 2010
- Species recognition and male mating behavior in the East-Mediterranean barn swallow (Hirundo rustica transitiva). Israel Journal of Ecology and Evolution. 97-98. 2010
- The unique sexual signals of the East-Mediterranean barn swallow (Hirundo rustica transitiva). Israel Journal of Ecology and Evolution. 104-105. 2010
- Co-evolution of plumage characteristics and winter sociality in New and Old World sparrows. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 2376-2386. 2009
- Evolutionary biology: Arms races in the eye of the beholder. Current Biology. R734-R736. 2008
- Sexual signal exaggeration affects physiological state in male barn swallows. Current Biology. R461-R462. 2008
- Group breeding in vertebrates: linking individual- and population-level approaches. Evolutionary Ecology Research. 1163-1185. 2007
- Integrating delayed dispersal into broader concepts of social group formation.. European Journal of Pharmacology. 114-117. 2007
- Evolutionary biology: variation isn't always sexy.. Current Biology. R368-R370. 2007
- Behavioural ecology: Promiscuous fathers sire young that recognize true family. Current Biology. R797-R800. 2006
- Dynamic paternity allocation as a function of male plumage color in barn swallows.. Science. 2210-2212. 2005

Teaching

courses taught

ARSC 4909 Senior Thesis for Individually Structured Major (Spring 2019)
EBIO 1220 General Biology 2 (Spring 2019)
EBIO 2840 Independent Study: Lower Division (Spring 2019)
EBIO 4840 Independent Study: Upper Division (Spring 2019)
EBIO 4870 Independent Research: Upper Division (Spring 2019)
EBIO 4990 EBIO Honors Thesis Research (Spring 2019)
EBIO 5840 Independent Study (Master's Level) (Spring 2019)
EBIO 6840 Independent Research (Master's Level) (Spring 2019)
EBIO 6940 Master's Degree Candidate - Plan II (Spring 2019)
EBIO 6950 Master's Thesis (Spring 2019)
EBIO 7840 Independent Study (Doctoral Level) (Spring 2019)
EBIO 8840 Independent Research (Doctoral Level) (Spring 2019)
EBIO 8990 Doctoral Dissertation (Spring 2019)
EBIO 2840 Independent Study: Lower Division (Fall 2018)
EBIO 3930 Internship (Fall 2018)
EBIO 3990 EBIO Honors Thesis Research (Fall 2018)
EBIO 4840 Independent Study: Upper Division (Fall 2018)
EBIO 4870 Independent Research: Upper Division (Fall 2018)
EBIO 4990 EBIO Honors Thesis Research (Fall 2018)
EBIO 5840 Independent Study (Master's Level) (Fall 2018)
EBIO 6840 Independent Research (Master's Level) (Fall 2018)
EBIO 6940 Master's Degree Candidate - Plan II (Fall 2018)
EBIO 6950 Master's Thesis (Fall 2018)
EBIO 7840 Independent Study (Doctoral Level) (Fall 2018)
EBIO 8840 Independent Research (Doctoral Level) (Fall 2018)
EBIO 8990 Doctoral Dissertation (Fall 2018)
EBIO 4840 Independent Study: Upper Division (Summer 2018)
EBIO 2840 Independent Study: Lower Division (Summer 2018)
EBIO 4870 Independent Research: Upper Division (Summer 2018)
EBIO 5840 Independent Study (Master's Level) (Summer 2018)
EBIO 6840 Independent Research (Master's Level) (Summer 2018)
EBIO 6940 Master's Degree Candidate - Plan II (Summer 2018)
EBIO 6950 Master's Thesis (Summer 2018)
EBIO 7840 Independent Study (Doctoral Level) (Summer 2018)
EBIO 8840 Independent Research (Doctoral Level) (Summer 2018)
EBIO 8990 Doctoral Dissertation (Summer 2018)
ARSC 4909 Senior Thesis for Individually Structured Major (Spring 2018)
EBIO 2840 Independent Study: Lower Division (Spring 2018)
EBIO 4840 Independent Study: Upper Division (Spring 2018)
EBIO 4870 Independent Research: Upper Division (Spring 2018)
EBIO 4990 EBIO Honors Thesis Research (Spring 2018)
EBIO 5840 Independent Study (Master's Level) (Spring 2018)
EBIO 6840 Independent Research (Master's Level) (Spring 2018)
EBIO 6940 Master's Degree Candidate - Plan II (Spring 2018)
EBIO 6950 Master's Thesis (Spring 2018)
EBIO 7840 Independent Study (Doctoral Level) (Spring 2018)
EBIO 8840 Independent Research (Doctoral Level) (Spring 2018)
EBIO 8990 Doctoral Dissertation (Spring 2018)

Background

education and training

Ph.D., Cornell University 2005
M.S., Humboldt State University 1997
B.S., University of Michigan-Dearborn 1991

awards and honors

Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program (National Science Foundation), conferred by National Science Foundation, 2012

International Activities

global connections related to teaching and scholarly work (in recent years)

Canada Country
China Country
Czech Republic Country
Israel Country
Japan Country
Morocco Country
Romania Country
Russian Federation Country
Turkey Country
United Kingdom Country

Other Profiles

ORCID iD

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4762-2638

Google Scholar

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=SKRWv2IAAAAJ&hl=en

ResearchGate

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rebecca_Safran