Molly completed her master’s in the SONG Lab in spring 2026, where she studied the function of female birdsong and competition in northern house wrens. Her thesis showed that female song functions mainly in female–female competition rather than mate attraction when males are polygynous (have multiple mates). She also used experimental playbacks to show that female aggression peaks during nest building whereas female song was used in multiple contexts and breeding stages. Molly is now a Ph.D. student at the University of Nevada, Reno, co-advised by Jenny Ouyang and Davide Baldan. She is broadly interested in how female signals evolve, particularly the hormonal and physiological mechanisms that shape their expression.Molly is also excellent at science communication. Check out her intagram feed here! @bitchesbebirding

Rohith is studying the endocrine mechanisms that regulate female song in Northern House Wrens. Specifically, he is testing the role of testosterone and its component metabolites (estradiol and dihydrotestosterne, DHT) to understand how female birdsong occurs in nature with low testosterone. His research interests lie at the intersection of behavioral ecology, animal communication, physiology, and evolution, with a particular interest in understanding the proximate mechanisms underlying animal behavior. Outside the lab, Rohith enjoysbirding, exploring wild spaces, nature journaling, and cooking.   

Clara studies bird species distributions across an urban gradient in Stockton, a city in California’s Central Valley. Using autonomous acoustic recorders and machine learning-based species identification (BirdNET), Clara is modeling presence and relative abundance of birds in neighborhoods that differ in canopy and vegetation structure. With more than 90 percent of the region’s historic wetlands, riparian forests, and grasslands already lost, and cities expanding quickly, urban habitat plays a growing role in supporting resident and migratory species. Clara is figuring out what habitat features these urban birds need!

Spencer is researching how biotic and abiotic factors influence how birds occupy urban settings. Specifically, he isusing automated passive recorders and BirdNet to monitor where birds spend their time throughout different seasons in an urban setting. He is also exploring how birdsong and green space affect people's moods (does hearing birds in your neighborhood reduce stress?). His goal is to investigate aspects of urbanhabitat that promote birds and make