DR. CASEY COOMES
Visiting Instructor and PRODiG Fellow
Department of Biology
SUNY Oneonta
About
I am currently a Visiting Instructor at the State University of New York Oneonta and a SUNY PRODiG Fellow. I received my Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Tennessee Knoxville.  My research examines the effects of heatwaves on songbird behavior, with a focus on communication.
Grants and Awards
2021 PRODiG Fellowship, State University of New York
2021 Best Dissertation Award, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee Knoxville
2020 Faculty Student Research Award, University of Tennessee Knoxville
2018 Student Research Grant, Animal Behavior Society
2018 Grant in Aid of Research, Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology.
2017 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
2016 Departmental Grant, Tulane University
2016 GRFP Honorable Mention
My Research
Impacts of heatwaves on songbird communication
With climate change, heatwaves are becoming longer, hotter, and more frequent. Songbirds are one of the animals most vulnerable to rising temperatures.
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I study how these heatwaves affect songbird communication because it is critical for reproductive success. I aim to address how high temperatures impact songbird communication from three main perspectives: the signaler, the receiver, and the signal itself.
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By addressing how heatwaves address communication at these three points, we can gain a more robust understanding of how animals will respond to ever-rising temperatures.
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Publications
High temperatures reduce song production and alter signal salience in songbirds
October 2021
CM Coomes, EP Derryberry - Animal Behaviour, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.07.020
Simulated heat waves reduce cognitive and motor performance of an endotherm
January 2021
RM Danner, CM Coomes, EP Derryberry - Ecology and evolution, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7194
Providing urban birds nutritious food to feed chicks reduces urban versus rural breeding success disparities
July 2020
EP Derryberry, CM Coomes - Journal of Animal Ecology, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13277
Elevated temperatures reduce discrimination between conspecific and heterospecific sexual signals
January 2019
CM Coomes, RM Danner, EP Derryberry- Animal Behaviour, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.10.024
Outreach
Thermal Image-ination
Co-developed with colleague Mae Berlow, this workshop is designed to teach 5th-8th grade students what it means to be a scientist using tools from thermal biology. We make hypotheses, design experiments, and then share our results. Using thermal imaging, we teach students about behavior, thermoregulation and conservation. This workshop has been adapted for events such as Girls in STEM at Tulane, Expanding Horizons at NIMBioS, and Kids U at the University of Tennessee Knoxville.