research

my dissertation work

my dissertation work

My PhD field site is in the eastern Sierra Nevadas, the traditional homelands of the Washoe and Numu people.

Surrounded by year round fieldwork, lab work, and more questions than I have time (or funding) to answer, my dissertation is focused on untangling the relationships between the gut microbiome, cognition, and the ecological factors that influence both in a wild passerine bird.

ch 1: serial reversal & cognition

ch 3: gut microbiome & cognition

ch 3: gut microbiome & cognition

ch 2: lit review

ch 4: gut microbiome & ecology

other scientific publications

  • Richmond, A. A. H., Ball, S., Pravosudov, V. V. Brains in the Branches: how chickadee brains survive harsh winters. Frontiers for Young Minds. (manuscript submitted).

  • Whitenack, L. E., Sonnenberg, B. R., Branch, C. L., Welklin, J. F., Haley, S. M., Richmond, A. A. H., & Pravosudov, V. V. (2026). Weather conditions across reproductive stages affect brood size and nestling mass in a montane songbird. Ornithology, Article ukag061. https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukag061

  • Welklin, J. F., Whitenack, L. E., Sonnenberg, B. R., Branch, C. L., Pitera, A. M., Haley, S. M., Richmond, A. A. H., & Pravosudov, V. V. (2026). Drought to deluge: Differential impacts of snow on mountain chickadee reproduction across the Sierra Nevada mountains. Journal of Animal Ecology, 00, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.70361

  • Johnson, K. A., Welklin, J. F., Sonnenberg, B. S., Branch, C.L., Haley, S. M, Whitenack, L. E., Richmond, A. A. H, Bridge, E.S, Pravosudov, V.V. Wild food-caching chickadees do not exhibit age-related cognitive decline throughout their natural lifespan. (manuscript in review). 

  • Whitenack, L. E., Richmond, A. A. H., Sonnenberg, B. R., Welkin, J. F., Heinen,V. K., Pitera, A. M., Branch, C. L., Pravosudov, V. V.  (2025). Postnatal dispersal and predictors of successful recruitment in resident mountain chickadees. Ornithology. https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukaf006