Curriculum Vitae

Lucas H. DeCicco

lhdecicco@gmail.com | 907-744-6101
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute
Dyche Hall, 1345 Jayhawk Blvd.
Lawrence, KS 66045

Education

Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada; B. S. in Biology, May 2009

University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas; PhD candidate, began August 2017

Professional Experience

Avian Field Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Management (2006–2017); seasonal and year-round work, led field crews and projects in remote areas of Alaska with under complicated logistical scenarios, wrote field reports and peer-reviewed publications, archived field data, analyzed data for publication

Curatorial Assistant Ornithology, University of Kansas Natural History Museum (2018, 2019);

Curatorial Assistant Mammalogy, University of Kansas Natural History Museum (2019)

Field Associate, American Museum of Natural History (2011–2017); collected and prepared bird specimens throughout Alaska

Field Associate, University of Alaska Museum (2000–2017); collected and prepared bird specimens throughout Alaska

Preparator, Acadia University Natural History Museum (2005–2009); prepared salvage bird specimens for the research and teaching collection

Teaching Assistant, University of Kansas (2017, 2018, 2020); Ornithology, Introductory Biology, Anatomy

Research Assistant, University of Kansas (2018, 2019, 2020); prepared genetic samples for sequencing, analyzed next-gen genomic sequence data, wrote field reports and peer-reviewed publications

Recordist, Macaulay Library, Cornell Lab of Ornithology (2011–present); provided audio recordings of birds and frogs from Alaska, Indonesia, Australia, Chile, Argentine, Kansas, Solomon Islands

Fieldwork Experience

Utah (June 2021): regional collecting in northeastern Utah in collaboration with parasitology survey

Kansas (2017–2021): local collecting throughout the state focused on filling gaps in our tissue collection, providing high quality anatomical specimens, and providing series of specimens from western KS that document intergrade areas between western and eastern taxa

Solomon Islands (2018, 2019): three expeditions, one as field leader, focused on multi-taxa group (mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds) inventories of remote islands

Alaska (2000–2017): regional collecting of bird specimens focused on providing high quality specimens with linked audio recordings from remote areas of Alaska and providing series of specimens from contact areas of coastal and interior avifaunas

Publications

*denotes papers coauthored with mentored students

Field or Expedition reports/Specimen-based research

—DeCicco, L. H. 2021. Notes on a contact zone between coastal and interior Fox Sparrows in south-central Alaska. Western Birds 52:148–159.

—Lavery, T. H., DeCicco, L. H., Richmond, J. Q., Tigulu, I. G., Andersen, M. J., Boseto, D., & Moyle, R. G. Accepted 2021. New faunal records from a World Heritage Site in danger: Rennell Island, Solomon Islands. Pacific Science.

—*DeCicco, L. H., Klicka, L. B., Campillo, L. C., Tigulu, I. G., Waihuru, J., Tako, R., Sirikolo, A., Mapel, X. M., McCullough, J. M., Andersen, M. J., & Moyle, R. G. In Press 2020. New distributional records of the Blue-faced Parrotfinch (Erythrura trichroa) in the Solomon Islands. Wilson Bulletin of Ornithology 132:192–197.

—DeCicco, L. H., Brady, S. S., Hamilton, S., Havimana, A., Mapel, X. M., McCullough, J. M., Olson, K. V., Tigulu, I. G., Travers, S. L., Tugu, A., Andersen, M. J., & Moyle, R. G. 2019. Notes on the birds of Isabel, Solomon Islands, including the first record since 1927 of Island Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus maforensis. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 139:311–319.

—DeCicco, L. H., Gibson, D. D., Tobish, T. G. Jr., Heinl, S. C., Hajdukovich, N. R., Johnson, J. A., & Wright, C. W. 2017. Birds of Middleton Island, a unique landfall for migrants in the Gulf of Alaska. Western Birds 48:216–295.

Natural History/Status & Distribution

—Guo, T., Mosah, S., Mapel, X. M., DeRaad, D. A., McCullough, J. M., DeCicco, L. H., Moyle, R. G., Boseto, D., & Andersen, M. J. In Press 2021. Detailed description of the nest, eggs, and juvenal plumage of the Solomons Nightjar (Eurostopodus nigripennis). Wilson Journal of Ornithology.

—Gibson D. D., DeCicco, L. H., Gill, R. E., Heinl, S. C., Lang, A. J., Tobish, T. G., & Withrow, J. J. 2018. Fourth report of the Alaska Checklist Committee, 2013-2017. Western Birds 49:174–191.

—Robinson, B. W. & DeCicco, L. H. 2017. Notes on Eurasian Barn Swallows in Alaska, including the first documentation of successful breeding in North America. Western Birds 48:197–204.

—Robinson, B. W., Bowman, A., DeCicco, L. H., & Wright, J. 2017. First breeding record of the Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) in Alaska. Western Birds 48:145–147.

—DeCicco, L. H. 2017. A description of the nest of Seram Golden Bulbul Thapsinillas affinis affinis Seram, Indonesia. BirdingASIA 26:71–72.

—Hajdukovich, N. R., DeCicco, L. D., & Tomkovich, P. S. 2015. Western North American records of Eurasian Bar-tailed Godwits. Western Birds 46:71–75.

—DeCicco, L. H., Warnock, N., & Johnson, J. 2013. History of the Red-necked Stint breeding in North America. Western Birds 44:273–278.

—Gibson D. D., DeCicco, L. H., Gill, R. E., Heinl, S. C., Lang, A. J., Tobish, T. G., & Withrow, J. J. 2013. Third report of the Alaska Checklist Committee, 2008–2012. Western Birds 44:183–195.

—DeCicco, L. H., Heinl, S. C., & Sonneborn, D. 2009. First North American records of the Rufous-tailed Robin. Western Birds 40:237–241.

—DeCicco, L. H. & Hajdukovich, N. 2007. First record of Cassin’s Vireo nesting in Alaska. Western Birds 39:36–38.

—Erwin, C. A., Rozell, K. B., & DeCicco, L. H. 2004. Update on the status and distribution of Wilson's Phalarope and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in Alaska. Western Birds 35:42–44.

Molecular systematics/Evolutionary biology

—DeRaad, D. A., J. D. Manthey, E. N. Ostrow, L. H. DeCicco, M. J. Andersen, P. A. Hosner, H. Shult, L. Joseph, J. P. Dumbacher, and R. G. Moyle. Submitted 2021. Population connectivity across a highly fragmented distribution: phylogeography of the Chalcophaps doves. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.

—*Hall, B. C., DeCicco, L. H., Rush, I. N., Ostrow, E. N., & Moyle, R. G. Submitted 2021. Molecular divergence among Yellow-spotted Barbet Buccanodon duchaillui populations suggests unrecognized diversity. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club.

—Mapel, X. M., Modak, T. H., DeCicco, L. H., Naikatin, A., Utzurrum, R. B., Seamon, J. O., Cibois, A., Thibault, J., Sorenson, M. D., Moyle, R. G., Barrow, L. N., & Andersen, M. J. 2021. Inter- and intra-archipelago dynamics of population structure and gene flow in a Polynesian bird. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 156:107034.

—DeCicco, L. H., Benz, B. W., DeRaad, D. A., Hime, P. M., & Moyle, R. G. 2020. New Guinea Erythrura parrotfinches: one species or two? Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 140:351–358.

—DeCicco, L. H., Shutler, D., & Mockford, S. 2017. Morphological differences between neartic and palearctic Gray-headed Chickadees. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 129:171–175.

Ecology/Behavior/Conservation

—Lameris, T. K., P. S. Tomkovich, J. A. Johnson, R. I. G. Morrison, I. Tulp, S. Lisovski, L. H. DeCicco, M. Dementyev, R. E. Gill Jr., J. ten Horn, T. Piersma, Z. Pohlen, H. Schekkerman, M. Soloviev, E. E. Syroechkovsky, M. K. Zhemchuzhnikov, and J. A. van Gils. 2021. Mismatch-induced growth reductions in a clade of Arctic-breeding shorebirds are rarely mitigated by increasing temperatures. Global Change Biology 10.1111/gcb.16025—

—Hagelin J. C., M. T. Hallworth, C. P. Barger, J. A. Johnson, K. A. DuBour, G. Pendelton, L. H. DeCicco, L. A. McDuffie, S. M. Matsuoka, M. A. Snively, P. P. Marra, and A. Taylor. Submitted 2021. Revealing migratory path, important stopovers and wintering areas of a steeply declining songbird that breeds in boreal Alaska. Animal Migration 8:168–191.

—Pohlen, Z. M., L. H. DeCicco, J. B. Buchanan, P. S. Tomkovich, and J. A. Johnson. 2021. Sex determination of Red Knots Calidris canutus roselaari using morphometrics. Wader Study 128:.

—Johnson, J. A., DeCicco, L. D., & Hajdukovich, N. R. 2020. Using playbacks of chick vocalizations to locate and capture breeding Red Knots. Wader Study 127:1–5.

—Booms, T. L., DeCicco, L. H., Barger, C. P., & Johnson, J. A. 2020. Current knowledge and conservation status of the Gray-headed Chickadee in North America. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management 11:1–11.

—Buchanan, J. B., Bishop, M. A., Johnson, J. A., DeCicco, L. H., Hajdukovich, N., Salzer, L. J., Loverti, V., Carmona, R., Arce, N., Ayala, V., Hernandez-Albarez, A., Michaelis, W., & MacCaffery, B. J. 2019. Does radio transmitter attachment influence resighting rates of Red Knots in the Pacific Flyway, USA? Wader Study 126:151–154.

—DeCicco, L. H., & Eaton, J. A. 2019. The vocalisations of the little-known Gray-hooded White-eye Heleia pinaiae from the mountains of Seram, Maluku, Indonesia. BirdingASIA 31:33–35.

—Robinson, B. W., DeCicco, L. H., Johnson, J. A., & Ruthrauff, D. R. 2018. Unusual foraging observations associated with seabird die-offs in Alaska. Marine Ornithology 46:149–153.

—Tomkovich, P. W., Johnson, J. A., Loktionov, E. Y., & DeCicco, L. H. 2018. Brood attendance by female Red Knots. Wader Study 125:1–6

—DeCicco, L. H. & Holman, W. 2017. Ansonia spinulifer vocal description from the island of Borneo. Herpetological Review 48:157–158.

—Johnson, J. A., T. Booms, DeCicco, L. H., & Douglas, D. 2017. Annual movements of the Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) in western North America revealed by satellite telemetry. Journal of Raptor Research 51:115–128.

—Johnson, J. A., DeCicco, L. H., Ruthrauff, D. R., Krauss, S., & Hall, J. S. 2014. Avian influenza virus antibodies in Pacific Coast Red Knots (Calidris canutus roselaari). Journal of Wildlife Diseases 50:671–675.

—Johnson, J. A., DeCicco, L. H., Matsuoka, S. M., and Sowls, A. L. 2013. Nesting ecology of McKay’s Buntings on St. Matthew Island, Alaska. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 125:376–384.

Recent Presentations

DeCicco, L. H., P. M. Hime, D. A. DeRaad, B. W. Benz, and R. G. Moyle. 2021. Genetic similarity of New Guinea parrotfinches suggests that they are not two species. Virtual Conference. American Ornithological Society.

DeCicco, L. H. 2021. Fox Sparrow breeding contact in south-central Alaska. Virtual Conference. Western Field Ornithologists.

Gyllenhall, E. F., L. B. Klicka, L. H. DeCicco, R. G. Moyle, and M. J. Andersen. 2021. The importance of gene flow in archipelagos: Case study in a Pacific island flycatcher. Virtual Conference. Evolution.

DeCicco, L. H., B. W. Robinson, B. Sullivan, and M. B. Robbins. 2020. Breeding provenance of Red-tailed Hawks wintering in Kansas. Virtual Conference. Kansas Ornithological Society.

DeCicco, L. H. 2019. Notes on a contact zone between two Fox Sparrow subspecies groups. Junction City Kansas. Kansas Ornithological Society.

Professional Service

Alaska Checklist Committee, voting member, 2012–present

North American Birds, assistant regional compiler, 2013–present

eBird, data editor for Alaska, 2005-present

Society Memberships

Western Field Ornithologists

Oriental Bird Club

American Ornithological Society

British Ornithologists’ Club

Boreal Partners in Flight

Alaska Shorebird Group

Journal Referee

Western Birds

Check List

Student Mentoring

Isaac N. Rush, B. Sc. 2018–2021, University of Kansas; bird specimen preparation, molecular lab work, project design, molecular data analysis, manuscript preparation and writing

Brooks C. Hall, B. Sc. 2019–2021, University of Kansas; molecular lab work, project design, molecular data analysis, manuscript preparation and writing

David Wallace, B. Sc. 2018–2019, University of Kansas; molecular lab work

Research Grants

University of Kansas Ornithology Funds: $1,000

University of Kansas Genome Sequencing Core voucher: $5,000

University of Kansas Panorama Student Research Award: $3,000

University of Kansas Doctoral Student Research Award: $1,500

Kansas Ornithological Society Student Research Award: $2,250

Burroughs Audubon Society Student Research Award: $2,500

Hawk Migration Association of North America Research Award: $1,000

Alaska Department of Fish and Game targeted funding for research: $29,074

Professional References

Robert G. Moyle: Curator of Birds, University of Kansas

moyle@ku.edu

Jim Johnson: Avian Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

jim_a_johnson@fws.gov

Dan Gibson: Retired Collections Manager, University of Alaska Museum of the North

avesalaska@gmail.com

Paul Sweet: Collections Manager, American Museum of Natural History

sweet@amnh.org

Dan Ruthrauff: Avian Research Biologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center

druthrauff@usgs.gov