Sharon Gill

Dr. Sharon Gill is a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Western Michigan University.

"Our research is focused on birds and sound, and we ask questions at the level of individual bird species, bird communities, and the collective soundscape.  We explore the meaning, structure, and evolution of alarm calls in yellow warblers and red-winged blackbirds;  the impacts of anthropogenic noise on bird song in house wrens, chipping sparrows, and field sparrows; and partitioning of acoustic space within transient and breeding bird communities. When animal sounds, wind and rain, and human sound and noise are combined, they form the soundscape of a place, and we’re investigate the impacts of land use on soundscapes, and whether soundscapes have changed over time and in response to restoration efforts.

 In addition to our study of sound ecology, we merge our scientific interests with artistic practice. Sharon collaborates with kinetic imaging professor Jacklyn Brickman (Gwen Frostic School of Art) and photographer Mary Whalen (Kalamazoo Institute of Arts) to consider human impacts on bird populations and stories of bird extinctions. Together, we’ve exhibited our interdisciplinary work at nature centers, art galleries, and art+science and film festivals.

 Our collective work is motivated by intense curiosity about and love of the birds around us and growing alarm about declines in bird populations worldwide."

Students in Gill's laboratory:

• Karla Kelly, PhD student
• Katie Maurer, Research Assistant
• Alex Rachel, Undergraduate Research Assistant
• Lisa Trapp, MS Student
• Lauren Vroman,  PhD Candidate

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