Species like the Louisiana Waterthrush (top) forage mostly on the ground but have high-aspect-ratio wings and a short tail, enhancing long-distance flight efficiency, making them well-suited for migration.

We found that dispersal ability and geographic range size don’t show a strong effect on speciation rates. On the other hand, we detected the effect of speciation reducing geographic ranges, a phenomenon predicted by speciation models but rarely demonstrated empirically.

We assembled a new comprehensive phylogenetic tree of birds in order to estimate diversification rates with higher accuracy. We leveraged published phylogenies, genetic sequence databases, and new techniques for divergence time estimation using fossils.

I’m recruiting graduate students to join my lab at the University of New Orleans starting in January or September 2026!
If you're at #Evol2025 and curious about my research, come to my talk on Saturday at 11:30 AM in Macroevolution & Diversification II.
Contact me if interested.
claramuntlab.org

I'm recruiting a PhD student to join my lab at the University of New Orleans starting in Fall 2025. Research topics will focus on building and using phylogenies to study the diversification of birds, with an emphasis on Neotropical bird radiations. Contact me if interested.