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I am a Staff Scientist in the Zoology Department, Bird Division and am working on The Field Museum's Emerging Pathogens Project. My research program focuses on three main areas: 1) avian and parasite phylogenetics, comparative biology and evolutionary history, 2) coevolutionary history of birds and their parasites, and 3) biodiversity surveys of avian parasites and pathogens. In particular much of my work has focused on examining the factors that promote the processes of diversification and speciation at both the microevolutionary and macroevolutionary levels. I principally use birds and their parasites as my model system and I have addressed evolutionary questions about host-parasite coevolution, host-switching, mimicry, avian hybridization, geographic variation, and population genetic structure.
Undergraduate Interns (Click to see past and current undergraduate intern profiles)
Website for "Southern Amazonian birds and their symbionts: Biodiversity and endemicity of parasites from the most diverse avifauna on Earth" Project
Outreach Media and Interviews
Variety is the Spice of Lice: http://vimeo.com/44956295
Science at FMNH-Collecting Birds for Museums: http://vimeo.com/49323191
Science at FMNH-The Emerging Pathogens Project: http://vimeo.com/49323186
Science at FMNH-Can working at The Field Museum change your life? (A video about how working at the Field Museum helped my undergraduate student to discover her love for biology): http://vimeo.com/49323192
NPR: All Things Considered: Big-Beaked Toucans Play It Cool: http://tinyurl.com/mscfyn
ChicagoPR: Eight-Forty-Eight: Dead Migratory Birds: http://tinyurl.com/9t4fzo2
FMNH Expeditions: Amazonian Birds: http://vimeopro.com/fieldmuseum/amazonian-birds
- Ph.D. in Zoology, Louisiana State University, 2003
- M.S. in Zoology, University of Minnesota, 1997
- B.S. in Natural Resources, University of Michigan,1993
- Staff Scientist, Field Museum of Natural History, Department of Zoology, 2009-present
- Post-doctoral Researcher, Field Museum of Natural History, Biodiversity Synthesis Center, 2008-2009
- Post-doctoral Researcher, Field Museum of Natural History, Department of Zoology, 2005-2008
- Research Associate, Illinois Natural History Survey-Center for Biodiversity, 2005-present
- Assistant Research Scientist III, University of Illinois, Illinois Natural History Survey-Section for Biodiversity, 2003-2005
- NSF DEB-1120054, Collaborative Research: Southern Amazonian birds and their symbionts: Biodiversity and endemicity of parasites from the most diverse avifauna on Earth, PI (with co-PIs V. Tkach, J. M. Bates and A. Aleixo), $787,000 (FMNH Cover Sheet: $537,000), 2011-2014
- NSF DEB-0515672, Bridging micro and macroevolutionary patterns: Population genetics of coevolutionary history, PI (with co-PIs J. M. Bates and A. Aleixo), $344,305 (and $34,250 in REU supplements), 2005-2010
- Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Section 6 Grant, Phylogeography of cave crickets (Ceuthophilus spp.) in central Texas: A keystone taxon for the conservation and management of federally endangered cave arthropods, (co-PI with S. J. Taylor, J. K. Krejca, G. Veni, K. P. Johnson, and J. R. Reddell, $19,720, 2004-2007
- Louisiana State University Dissertation Fellowship, $15,000, 2002-2003
- NSF DEB-0104919, Dissertation Research: A cophylogenetic analysis of avian hosts and their parasites: toucans (Aves: Piciformes) and chewing lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera), $8067, 2001-2003
- American Ornithologists’ Union Research Award, A cophylogenetic analysis of avian hosts and their parasites: toucans (Aves: Piciformes) and chewing lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera), $1773, 2001
- American Ornithologists’ Union: Marcia Brady Tucker Travel Award, Cophylogenetic analysis of toucans (Aves: Piciformes) and their Ischnoceran chewing lice: Are host and parasite phylogenies congruent?, $416, 2001
- Frank M. Chapman Memorial Fund, A test of Amazonian biogeographic hypotheses: a genetic assessment of a hybrid zone in the Channel-billed Toucan (Ramphastos vitellinus), $2300, 2000
- George H. Lowry, Jr. Memorial Fund, A collecting expedition to the Tapajós River valley of Brazil, $1700, 1999
- Sigma Xi Grant-in-aid of Research, A molecular test of cophylogeny between Ramphastos toucans and their associated chewing lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera: Ischnocera), $700, 1999
- Frank M. Chapman Memorial Fund, A molecular test of cophylogeny between Ramphastos toucans and their associated chewing lice. $2700, 1999
- McDaniel’s Travel Award,Mitochondrial genome transfer and replacement in the crowned sparrows (Genus Zonotrichia), $1000, 1998
- T. Vinton Holmes Endowment in Ornithology, Phylogenetic interpretations of apparent convergence in the Ramphastos toucans, $500, 1998
- Frank M. Chapman Memorial Fund, Phylogenetic interpretations of apparent convergence in the Ramphastos toucans, $1966, 1998
- James W. Wilkie Fellowship, Species limits, relationships, phylogeography and comparisons of rates of evolution in the Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca), $1100, 1997
- Dayton Fellowship, Subspecies relationships in the White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys), $1000, 1996
- James W. Wilkie Fellowship, Species limits of the Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca), $500, 1995
- Frank M. Chapman Memorial Fund, Species limits of the Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca), $910, 1995
other honors:
- American Ornithologists’ Union Council Student Presentation Award, $200, 2002
- Michigan Biological Station Merit-based Scholarship, $250, 1993
- University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources, Allan Shultz Memorial Award, 1993
- University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources, Mertz-Brown Scholarship, $1000, 1993
Valim, M. P. and J. D. Weckstein. 2012. A new genus and species of Philopteridae (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera) from the trumpeters (Aves: Gruiformes: Psophidae). Journal of Parasitology 98:728−734. pdf
Seeholzer, G. F., B. M. Winger, M. G. Harvey, D. Cáceres A, and J. D. Weckstein. 2012. A new species of barbet (Capitoninae: Capito) from the southern Cerros del Sira, Ucayali, Peru. Auk 129:551−559. pdf
Valim, M. P. and J. D. Weckstein. 2012. Two new species of the genus Cotingacola Carriker, 1956 (Phthiraptera, Ischnocera, Philopteridae) from Amazonian Brazil, with comments on host-specificity. Systematic Parasitology 81:159-167. pdf
Johnson, K. P., J. D. Weckstein, S. E. Bush, and D. H. Clayton. 2011. The evolution of host specificity in dove body lice. Parasitology 138:1730-1736. pdf
Engel, J. I., M. H. Hennen, C. C. Witt, and J. D. Weckstein. 2011. Affinities of Three Vagrant Cave Swallows from Eastern North America. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 123:840-845. pdf
Valim, M. P. and J. D. Weckstein. 2011. Two new species of Brueelia Kéler, 1936 (Ischnocera, Philopteridae) parasitic on Neotopical trogons (Aves, Trogoniformes). Zookeys 128:1-13. pdf
Johnson, K. P. and J. D. Weckstein. 2011. The Central American land bridge as an engine of diversification in new world doves. Journal of Biogeography 38:1069-1076. pdf
Johnson, K. P., J. D. Weckstein, M. J. Meyer, and D. H. Clayton. 2011. There and back again: Switching between host orders by avian body lice (Ischnocera: Goniodidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 102:614-625. pdf
Patel, S., J. D. Weckstein, J. S. L. Patané, J. M. Bates, and A. Aleixo. 2011. Temporal and spatial diversification of Pteroglossus araçaris (Aves: Ramphastidae) in the Neotropics: Constant rate of diversification does not support an increase in radiation during the Pleistocene. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 58:105-115. pdf
Rice, A. A., J. D. Weckstein, and J. Engel. 2010. Black-mandibled Toucan (Ramphastos ambiguus). In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; retrieved from Neotropical Birds Online: http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p_spp=27206
Rice, A. A., J. D. Weckstein, and J. Engel. 2010. Chestnut-mandibled Toucan (Ramphastos swainsonii). In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; retrieved from Neotropical Birds Online: http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p_spp=303416
Patané, J. S. L., J. D. Weckstein, J. M. Bates, and A. Aleixo. 2009. Evolutionary history of Ramphastos toucans: Molecular phylogenetics, temporal diversification, and biogeography. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 53:923-934. pdf
Bueter, C., J. D. Weckstein, K. P. Johnson, J. M. Bates, and C. E. Gordon. 2009. Comparative phylogenetic histories of two louse genera found on Catharus thrushes and other birds.Journal of Parasitology 95:295-307. pdf
Weckstein, J. D., B. D. Marks, R. G. Moyle, K. P. Johnson, M. J. Meyer, J. Braimah, J. Oppong, and J. Amponsah. 2009. Important bird records from two expeditions to the Upper Guinea forest of Ghana. Malimbus 31:28-46. pdf
Marks, B. D., J. D. Weckstein, and R. G. Moyle. 2007. Molecular phylogenetics of the bee-eaters (Aves: Meropidae) based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 45:23-32. pdf
Aleixo, A., E. B. Rodrigues, M. S. Faccio, J. D. Weckstein, J. M. Bates. 2007. Aves do Cacuajó, FLONA de Caxiuanã. Pages 70-72 in Resumos Expandidos do I Seminário Científico do PPBIO. Belém: Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. pdf
Price, R. D. and J. D. Weckstein. 2006. Picicola Clay and Meinertzhagen (Phthiraptera: Philopteridae) from jacamars and puffbirds (Piciformes: Galbulidae, Bucconidae), with descriptions of five new species. Zootaxa 1367:37-50. pdf
Weckstein, J. D. 2005. Molecular Phylogenetics of the Ramphastos toucans: Implications for the evolution of morphology, vocalizations, and coloration. Auk 122:1191-1209. pdf [Erratum pdf]
Armenta, J. K., J. D. Weckstein, and D. F. Lane. 2005. Geographic variation in mitochondrial DNA sequences of an Amazonian non-passerine: the Black-spotted Barbet (Capito niger). Condor 107:527-536. pdf
Hellenthal, R. A., R. D. Price, and J. D. Weckstein. 2005. The genus Ramphasticola Carriker (Phthiraptera: Menoponidae) from the toucans (Piciformes: Ramphastidae), with description of a new species. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 107:565-571. pdf
Price, R. D. and J. D. Weckstein. 2005. The genus Austrophilopterus Ewing (Phthiraptera: Philopteridae) from toucans, toucanets, and araçaris (Piciformes: Ramphastidae). Zootaxa 918:1-18. pdf
Weckstein, J. D. 2004. Biogeography explains cophylogenetic patterns in toucan chewing lice. Systematic Biology 53:154-164. pdf
Price, R. D., R. A. Hellenthal, and J. D. Weckstein. 2004. The genus Myrsidea Waterston (Phthiraptera: Menoponidae) from the toucans (Piciformes: Ramphastidae), with description of three new species. Zootaxa 613:1-18. pdf
Marks, B. D., J. D. Weckstein, K. P. Johnson, M. J. Meyer, J. Braimah, and J. Oppong. 2004. Rediscovery of the White-necked Picathartes (Picathartes gymnocephalus) in Ghana. Bulletin of the British Ornithological Club 124:151-153. pdf
Zink, R. M. and J. D. Weckstein. 2003. Recent evolutionary history of the Fox Sparrows (Genus: Passerella). Auk 120:522-527. pdf
Weckstein, J. D., D. E. Kroodsma, and R. C. Faucett. 2002. Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca). In: The Birds of North America, (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D. C.: The American Ornithologists’ Union. pdf
Johnson, K. P., J. D. Weckstein, C. C. Witt, R. C. Faucett, and R. G. Moyle. 2002. The perils of using host relationships in parasite taxonomy: phylogeny of the Degeeriella complex. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 23:150-157. pdf
Weckstein, J. D., A. D. Afton, R. M. Zink, and R. T. Alisauskas. 2002. Hybridization and population subdivision within and between Ross’s and Lesser Snow geese: a molecular perspective. Condor 104:432-436. pdf
Johnson, K. P., R. G. Moyle, C. C. Witt, R. C. Faucett, and J. D. Weckstein. 2001. Phylogenetic relationships in the louse genus Penenirmus based on nuclear (EF1a) and mitochondrial (COI) DNA sequences. Systematic Entomology 26:491-497. pdf
Weckstein, J. D., R. M. Zink, R. C. Blackwell-Rago, and D. A. Nelson. 2001. Anomalous variation in mitochondrial genomes of White-crowned (Zonotrichia leucophrys) and Golden-crowned (Z. atricapilla) sparrows: pseudogenes, hybridization or incomplete lineage sorting? Auk 118:231-236. pdf
Root, T. L. and J. D. Weckstein. 1995. Changes in ranges of wintering birds: 1901-1940 to 1960-1989. Pages 386-389 in Our living Resources: A Report to the Nation on the Distribution, Abundance and Health of U.S. Plants, Animals and Ecosystems. E. T. Laroe, G. S. Farris, C. Puckett, P. D. Doran, and M. J. Mac (eds). NBS, USDOI, Washington, DC. pdf
Root, T. L. and J. D. Weckstein. 1994. Changes in distribution patterns of select wintering North American birds from 1901 to 1989. Studies in Avian Biology 15:191-201. pdf