Dr. Williamson will discuss her research on birds that make extreme seasonal shifts in elevation during migration, and will talk about how these movements affect ecology, evolution, and physiology. She will focus on her recent work with giant hummingbirds (Patagona spp.) in Peru and Chile, in which she’s combined migration tracking, genomics, and field physiological approaches to uncover a spectacular long-distance migratory journey with an extreme elevational ascent––and cryptic speciation between the world’s largest hummingbirds.
Jessie is an integrative ornithologist who combines approaches across disciplines and timescales to study how elevation affects the migration, physiology, and genomic divergence of birds. Her research takes place in the U.S. and the South American Andes.Currently, Jessie is an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Rose Fellow, sponsored by Dr. Irby Lovette and Dr. Maren Vitousek at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates. She completed her Ph.D. with Dr. Chris Witt at the University of New Mexico and Museum of Southwestern Biology, where she is a Research Associate.
In August 2025, Jessie will join the University of Wyoming as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Zoology & Physiology.
Hosted by WFCB
