Maria Castaño

I’m a Colombian evolutionary biologist broadly interested in how natural and sexual selection drive population differentiation and speciation in neotropical birds. My research combines behavioral experiments with pangenomic, biochemical and transcriptomic tools to explore how visual signals involved in mate choice evolve and how they help maintain reproductive isolation. I also own a birdwatching company Amazona Tropical Birding (http://atbirding.com/), a project dedicated to ethical bird tourism that supports community-based conservation in Colombia.