BEES Department Graduate Seminar

Thursday, January 22, 2026

3:30 PM-4:50 PM

All Drexel students and faculty are invited to join the BEES Department in welcoming Dr. Jennifer Uehling, PhD, Assistant Professor of Biology from West Chester University, who will discuss “Stress eating? Causes and consequences of variation in avian foraging behavior in a challenging world.”

Abstract:
Foraging is fundamental to sustaining life. Yet, variation in foraging behavior is often not well understood. Dr. Uehling will share ongoing work from her research group, investigating both the causes of foraging choices and the consequences of dietary variation in songbirds in the northeastern USA. This work relies on collecting feces from songbirds to characterize both their diets and the potential pollutants they may be exposed to in their diets. We use fecal sample DNA metabarcoding to show that adult birds with experimentally elevated corticosterone (the primary glucocorticoid in birds) have diets composed of a lower percentage of macronutrient-rich aquatic insects. We again use DNA metabarcoding to show that nestling birds with higher dietary diversity have a greater chance of fledging. Lastly, Dr. Uehling will share their finding that foraging strategy predicts exposure to microplastics in backyard songbirds. Taken together, this work sheds light on factors that may contribute to reductions in fitness and avian population declines in an increasingly challenging world.

Bio:
Jenny Uehling is an Assistant Professor of Biology at West Chester University in West Chester, PA. She received her B.S. in Biology and B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of Chicago and her Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Cornell University. Her research program focuses on bird behavior and ecology. Much of her work explores the causes and consequences of variation in foraging behavior in cavity-nesting songbirds.

Contact Information

Donna Fahres
bees@drexel.edu