Date: 4/1/26 6:05 pm From: Kevin Krajcir <kjkrajcir...> Subject: ASCA April 2026 Presentation - Dr. Tosha Kelly - Sparrow Migration and Malaria
Good evening!
Join the Audubon Society of Central Arkansas on Thursday April 9th at 7 PM to hear from Dr. Tosha Kelly about how avian malaria affects the migration of song and white-throated sparrows. Dr. Kelly is currently an Associate Researcher at Kent State University.
Tracking birds is a notorious challenge due to their ability to fly and their small size can preclude the use of large tracking technologies, such as radio-collars. In this presentation, Dr. Tosh shares her research that quantifies the migration of song sparrows (*Melospiza melodia*) and white-throated sparrows (*Zonotrichia albicollis*) using stable isotopes, radiotelemetry, light sensors, and video cameras, through the lenses of philopatry (tendency to return to a particular area) and disease ecology (avian malaria; *Plasmodium*). Using both field- and lab-based approaches, her findings demonstrate how malaria parasites can affect migratory timing and physiology. Dr. Tosh will also share the science behind ground-truthing new animal tracking techniques.
Dr. Tosha Kelly studies how host physiology shapes variation in disease outcomes in wild birds. She received her PhD from The University of Western Ontario, Canada, at the Advanced Facility for Avian Research, was postdoc fellow of The Life Sciences Research Foundation at Louisiana State University, and is currently an Associate Researcher at Kent State University. Tosh has studied host-parasite interactions of sparrows in the context of migration ecology, immune and endocrine physiology, and presently through the lens of gut microbiomes.
