Institute at Brown for Environment and Society

Sofia Piggott is interested in how environmental factors impact behavioral and anatomical evolution in birds. Her current project focuses on the disparities in wing bone morphology of small, Neotropical birds in the Pipridae family that execute a variety of behaviors related to mating and courting. She's interested in understanding how these differences in their anatomy were influenced by environmental factors since these birds have differing ranges that include distinct habitats throughout Central and South America. Environmental change directly impacts their behaviors since aspects like climate, food and resource availability, and even the amount of sunlight can impact both their reproductive success and survival.