麻豆传媒

Karina Sanchez, a Biological Education Ph.D. candidate at the University of Northern Colorado, has been awarded a $20,000 award from the , an organization that promotes education and equity for women and girls.

鈥淚鈥檓 really honored to get this award from an organization that鈥檚 dedicated in supporting women in academia,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to make a huge difference in my final year of working on my dissertation, which will essentially allow me to have a living wage without having to work as a teacher鈥檚 assistant so I can more easily concentrate on finishing my work.鈥�

Sanchez鈥檚 dissertation involves researching how noise and light pollution and landscape composition in urban settings affects American robins, specifically their bird song. Her faculty advisor is Lauryn Benedict, Ph.D., a professor and the associate director of Biological Sciences at 麻豆传媒, whose research interests include animal communication and social behavior.

鈥淭丑别re鈥檚 lots of evidence right now showing that birds are changing their songs to avoid being masked by loud noises in urban areas,鈥� Sanchez said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing changes in their frequency where they鈥檙e singing at higher pitches as well as singing in between traffic noises or later in the day due to light pollution.鈥�

A bird鈥檚 song is very specific and can make or break a bird鈥檚 ability to get its own territory, the resources in that territory and attract a female.

鈥淏ird song is very important behavior for them especially for their nest success,鈥� she said.

Sanchez is conducting research in nine growing cities within Weld County: Greeley, Evans, Briggsdale, Windsor, La Salle, Ault, Severance, Windsor and Eaton. She is also working with the U.S. Forest Service to access areas in the Pawnee National Grassland. All previous research on urban ecology and bird songs has been conducted in well-developed cities, such as New York City, Boston, District of Columbia and in the state of California.

鈥淭丑别re have been very few studies done in recently urbanized areas that are growing rapidly,鈥� Sanchez said. 鈥淭his gives us an opportunity to see the amount of time in terms of increased noise and light pollution in a growing urban area it takes before birds start changing their behaviors.鈥�

Sanchez and others venture out in the mornings to record bird songs in those cities, follow the birds to their nests and monitor those nests for the season. In addition, she also traps, tags and releases birds for identification purposes as well as installs noise recorders and light-measuring devices to collect additional data.

Her research is a community science project where she is fully dependent on community members visiting her website, , and submitting nest reports if they find a nest in their yard.

鈥淐ontribute to my project! We come and monitor the nest in your yard throughout the season as well as measure noise and light pollution in the surrounding area,鈥� Sanchez said. 鈥淚鈥檝e loved every person who I鈥檝e got to meet over the past three years in doing this.鈥�

Because of her passion in teaching, Sanchez plans to stick in academia and advocate for underrepresented groups in the area of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) after she finishes her dissertation in spring of 2022.

鈥淚 really believe that offering paid undergraduate research experiences is the first step in increasing diversity in academia,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 really want to dedicate myself in finding paid opportunities for undergraduates because that money opens the door for more people, specifically people of color and underrepresented groups, to take on more of those positions.鈥�

Sanchez prides herself in being a first-generation Latina student in STEM and wants to support diverse students in getting more involved in STEM.

鈥淏ecause I鈥檓 considered a 鈥榳hite-passing Mexican,鈥� I haven鈥檛 experienced as many barriers as others,鈥� she said, 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 proud to say that I鈥檓 a Mexican in academia.鈥�

Sanchez chose to pursue her Ph.D. in 麻豆传媒鈥檚 Biological Education program because of the independence the program gives her to research what she鈥檚 interested in while still being trained in pedagogy methods.

鈥淚 feel lucky that I get to do the research that I鈥檓 really interested in, which is urban ecology/behavior, and how 麻豆传媒 offers the ability to do that is incredible and is the big reason why I came to 麻豆传媒,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y advisor has been so awesome in giving me a lot of freedom in what I鈥檓 interested in studying as well as being very supportive. I also had incredible teaching mentors: Emily Holt and Rob Reinsvold, who have really helped me come into teaching and teach me how I fit in the teaching realm.

鈥淭丑别 Graduate Student Association (GSA) has also been incredible, and I love being involved in the GSA as they are so supportive with my ideas and in funding to attend conferences as well as in some of my research.鈥�

She is originally from West Valley City, Utah, and received her bachelor鈥檚 degree in Biology from Westminster College in Salt Lake City in 2014.

Sanchez鈥檚 research interests include urban ecology, behavioral ecology, STEM education and inquiry-based learning. She has been named a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Honorable Mention as well as the Zoological Lighting Institute鈥檚 Photodiversity grant recipient. Her research is funded by the Zoological Lighting Institute, Colorado Field Ornithologists, American Ornithological Society and 麻豆传媒鈥檚 College of Natural and Health Science fund and Biology Department.

鈥擶ritten by Katie Corder; photos courtesy of Sanchez