Amy Munes

RESEARCH

Hello, my research interests involve how toxins impact avian vertebrates on a molecular level. Growing up in Wisconsin’s Lower Fox River Basin, which was designated as a Superfund site by the EPA in 1998, I have long had an interest in toxicology. As an undergrad, double majoring in wildlife ecology and biology, I worked on a project measuring contaminants in tributaries of the Fox and Wolf Rivers. After finishing my B.S., I worked various avian field jobs in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii. Three years were spent surveying Northern spotted owls for the U.S. Forest Service in the Tyee area of Oregon, which sparked an interest in owl research.

For my master’s research I measured telomere lengths in the blood of common loons and looked for correlations with methylmercury concentrations. My Ph.D. research will be investigating trophic toxicology using invasive barred owls from Northern California. Using metabarcoding on DNA extracts from owl feces, I will examine which prey species are associated with higher levels of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticide (AR) contamination. In addition, I will use various methods to determine fitness implications associated with AR exposure on Strix species. I am excited to be a part of the research team in this lab and can hopefully shine a light on a potential population sink for the California Spotted owls.