Breadcrumb

Bio
Hybridization, speciation, evolutionary ecology, and population genomics (primarily of birds); impacts of anthropogenic change on species distributions, interactions, and evolution.
Check out the Taylor Lab website for more about the work of my research group, including the Boulder Chickadee Study, and my teaching and publications. Graduate and undergraduate students can also find information about joining the lab.
Education
- PhD: Queen's University, 2011
Research
My research applies genomics and field experiments to natural hybrid zones and closely related taxa in order to investigate the architecture of reproductive isolation—the hallmark of speciation—and the genetic bases of traits relevant to speciation. This research also provides insight into the impacts of anthropogenic change, including climate change, on species distributions, interactions, and evolution.
Publications
Recent publications
Anthropogenic Change and the Process of Speciation.
Ålund M; Cenzer M; Bierne N; Boughman JW; Cerca J; Comerford MS; Culicchi A; Langerhans B; McFarlane SE; Möst MH...
- Ålund M
- Cenzer M
- Bierne N
- Boughman JW
- Cerca J
- Comerford MS
- Culicchi A
- Langerhans B
- McFarlane SE
- Möst MH
Publication Date: 2023-10-03
Type: Journal Article
Quantitative Analyses of Coupling in Hybrid Zones.
Publication Date: 2023-09-22
Type: Journal Article
Slow birding: The art and science of enjoying the birds in your own backyard
Publication Date: 2023-08-11
Type: Journal Article
Similar parasite communities but dissimilar infection patterns in two closely related chickadee species
Publication Date: 2023-07-14
Type: Journal Article
The genetic basis of plumage coloration and elevation adaptation in a clade of recently diverged alpine and arctic songbirds
Publication Date: 2023-03-01
Type: Journal Article
Hybridization between closely related songbirds is related to human habitat disturbance
Publication Date: 2022-10-28
Type: Journal Article
Sympatry leads to reduced body condition in chickadees that occasionally hybridize
Publication Date: 2022-04-01
Type: Journal Article
Estimating hybridization in the wild using citizen science data: A path forward
Publication Date: 2022-02-01
Type: Journal Article
The genetic basis of spatial cognitive variation in a food-caching bird
Publication Date: 2022-01-10
Type: Journal Article
A supergene underlies linked variation in color and morphology in a Holarctic songbird
Publication Date: 2021-11-25
Type: Journal Article
A highly invasive malaria parasite has expanded its range to non-migratory birds in North America
Publication Date: 2021-09-08
Type: Journal Article
Achromatic plumage variation between and within hybridizing Black-capped and Mountain chickadees
Publication Date: 2021-06-01
Type: Journal Article
Phylogenomic Data Reveal Widespread Introgression Across the Range of an Alpine and Arctic Specialist
Publication Date: 2021-05-01
Type: Journal Article
Dense sampling of bird diversity increases power of comparative genomics (vol 587, pg 252, 2020)
Publication Date: 2021-04-29
Type: Journal Article
Genomic and acoustic differences separate Lilian's Meadowlark (Sturnella magna lilianae) from Eastern (S. magna) and Western (S. neglecta) meadowlarks
Publication Date: 2021-04-24
Type: Journal Article
Rapid speciation via the evolution of pre-mating isolation in the Ibera Seedeater
Turbek SP; Browne M; Di Giacomo AS; Kopuchian C; Hochachka WM; Estalles C; Lijtmaer DA; Tubaro PL; Silveira LF; Lovette ...
- Turbek SP
- Browne M
- Di Giacomo AS
- Kopuchian C
- Hochachka WM
- Estalles C
- Lijtmaer DA
- Tubaro PL
- Silveira LF
- Lovette IJ
Publication Date: 2021-03-26
Type: Journal Article
An isolated white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) population on St. John, US Virgin Islands shows low inbreeding and comparable heterozygosity to other larger populations
Publication Date: 2021-03-01
Type: Journal Article
Asymmetric introgression reveals the genetic architecture of a plumage trait
Publication Date: 2021-02-15
Type: Journal Article
Dense sampling of bird diversity increases power of comparative genomics
Publication Date: 2020-11-12
Type: Journal Article
Leveraging eDNA to expand the study of hybrid zones
Publication Date: 2020-08-01
Type: Journal Article
Genomic and plumage variation in Vermivora hybrids
Publication Date: 2020-07-01
Type: Journal Article
Genomic regions underlying metabolic and neuronal signaling pathways are temporally consistent in a moving avian hybrid zone
Publication Date: 2020-06-15
Type: Journal Article
Effects of hybridization on cognition in chickadees: A common garden approach
Publication Date: 2020-01-03
Type: Conference Proceeding
Book review of evolutionary genetics: Concepts, analysis, and practice
Publication Date: 2019-10-01
Type: Journal Article
High-throughput sequencing is revealing genetic associations with avian plumage color
Publication Date: 2019-10-01
Type: Journal Article
Pages
Teaching
Scott teaches a number of field-based and lecture format undergraduate courses. He incorporates creativity into his pedagogy when possible, and encourages his students to engage with the subject matter in unconventional ways. Students who take the course Ecology and Evolution in the Galápagos Islands keep field notes alongside watercolor depictions of their observations.
Courses
See Scott's courses on his lab website.
---
Outreach
The Storycollider story: Becoming: Stories about growing into yourself. Storycollider podcast with transcript, May 2022.
TedX Boulder talk: Why you should pay attention to backyard birds. YouTube video, July 2019.