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McCracken Lab

Kevin G. McCracken

James A. Kushlan Chair in Waterbird Biology and Conservation

Department of Biology

Marine Biology & Ecology, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science

Hussman Institute for Human Genomics

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Research Interests:

My research interests are in evolutionary biology. Field studies and analytical methods from a variety of different disciplines including population genetics, physiology, protein chemistry, and wildlife biology are being used to address questions about the process of adaptation and natural selection, at both the molecular level and in whole organisms. Waterfowl and other waterbird species inhabiting high-altitude regions such as the Andes are of particular interest, as are diving birds.

High altitudes are characterized by extreme differences in ambient pressure and temperature that vary across elevational gradients. Hypoxia in particular is one of the most important factors influencing survival, and biochemical changes in the blood protein hemoglobin (Hb) have been shown to mitigate the effects of chronic exposure to hypoxia in high-altitude adapted populations. Surveys of hemoglobin polymorphism in Andean waterfowl indicate that genotypic variants that are over-represented in high-altitude populations have resulted in increased Hb-O2 affinity and that these changes have occurred over relatively short evolutionary time periods. However, hemoglobin represents only one part of the O2 transport cascade. Mechanistic changes have occured at many other points affecting O2 transport, and the outcomes may not be as simple or uniform as that observed for hemoglobin. Examples include how individuals modulate their Hb-O2 carrying capacity and vary their ventilation rate and cardiovascular response in response to hypoxia. Changes also occur influencing cellular metabolism. The roles of development and phenotypic plasticity and how they may alternatively promote the process of genetic adaptation or shield genotypes from natural selection are also of interest.

Collaborators on these projects have included Jay Storz at the University of Nebraska, Roy Weber at the University of Aarhus, Bill Milsom at the University of British Colombia, Graham Scott at McMaster University, Jeff Peters at Wright State University, and Kevin Winker at the University of Alaska Museum. We also maintain close ties with investigators at the Alaska Science Center and several South American museum, Thomas Valqui at the Centro de Ornitologia y Biodiversidad (CORBIDI) and the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales (MACN).

Prospective students or postdocs with strong interests in population genetics, high-altitude physiology, Andean biogeography, or any aspect of waterfowl ecology and management are encouraged to contact us.

I have joint appointments on all three campuses of the University of Miami and can advise PhD students in the Department of Biology, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, and Hussman Institute for Human Genomics.

If you are interested in conducting research in my lab send me an email with some details about your background and research interests. My email is spelled like my name: kevin.g.mccracken at gmail dot com

You can follow recent activitites in my lab on our Google+ website.

Grant support: NSF 0444748, 0746365, 0814322, 0949439/0949931

     
People in the Lab:   Lecture Courses:
     
Luis Alza Ph.D. student Principles of Genetics - BIL 250
Alexis Diaz Ph.D. student Systematic & Comparative Biology
    Modern Synthesis of Evolution
PhD & MS Students: When they graduated and where they are now: High-altitude Adaptation Seminar
    High-altitude Expedition to Peru
Allie Graham PhD 2017 - Oregon State University
Marine Field Ornithology
Matt Smith MS 2014 - USGS, Alaska Science Center Population Genetics & Genomics
Natalia Gutiérrez MS1 2013 - University of Nebraska  
María Lozano MS1 2013 - Wageningen University, Netherlands
Genomics Workshop:
Robert Wilson PhD 2011 - USGS, Alaska Science Center
Mariana Bulgarella PhD 2010 - Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Travis Booms PhD 2010 - Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Patrick-Jean Guay PhD2 2008 - Victoria University, Australia
John Pearce PhD 2008 - USGS, Alaska Science Center
Jen Schmidt PhD 2007 - University of Alaska Anchorage
Sarah Sonsthagen PhD 2006 - USGS, Alaska Science Center
Irina Kulikova PhD3 2005 - Institute of Biology & Soil Science, Vladivostok, Russia
   
1Universidad de los Andes, Bogota, Colombia
2Melbourne University, Australia
3Institute of Biology & Soil Science, Vladivostok, Russia
   
Former Postdocs:    
     
Jeff Peters Wright State University  
Philip Lavretsky University of Texas El Paso  
Neal Dawson McMaster University  
     
Undergrads Following Research Careers:  
     
Chris Barger Alaska Department of Fish and Game  
Matt Smith USGS, Alaska Science Center  
Rebecca Cheek Colorado State University  
Daniela Wilner University of Florida  
     
Highlighted Research Articles:    
     
   
News Coverage:  
   
   
   
 
   
   
   
Noteworthy Books:  
   
 
 
Publications: (bold text indicates lab member, past or present)
     
2017   Laguë, S. L., B. Chua, L. Alza, G. R. Scott, P. B. Frappell, Y. Zhong, A. P. Farrell, K. G. McCracken, Y. Wang, and W. K. Milsom.  High-altitude champions: Divergent strategies in birds for obtaining oxygen in extreme hypoxia.  Journal of Experimental Biology (in press).
     
2017
Alza, L., E. Bautista, M. Smith, N. Gutierrez-Pinto, A. Astie, and K. G. McCracken.  Capture efficiency of Torrent Ducks by the active mist-net method.  Wildlife Society Bulletin - doi:10.1002/wsb.757
     
2017
Maina, J. N., K. G. McCracken, B. Chua, J. M. York, and W. K. Milsom.  Morphological and morphometric specializations of the lung of the Andean Goose, Chloephaga melanoptera: A lifelong high-altitude resident.  PLoS ONE 12:e0174395 - doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0174395
     
2017
York, J. M., B. A. Chua, C. M. Ivy, L. Alza, R. Cheek, G. R. Scott, K. G. McCracken, P. B. Frappell, N. J. Dawson, S. L. Lague, and W. K. Milsom.  Respiratory mechanics of eleven avian species resident at high and low altitude.  Journal of Experimental Biology 220:1079-1089 - doi:10.1242/jeb.151191
     
2017
Nelson, J. T., R. E. Wilson, K. G. McCracken, G. Cumming, L. Jospeh, P.-J. Guay, and J. L. Peters. Divergence and gene flow in the globally distributed blue-winged ducks. Journal of Avian Biology 48:640-648 - doi:10.1111/jav.00998
     
2016
Dawson, N. J., C. M. Ivy, L. Alza, R. Cheek, J. M. York, B. Chua, W. K. Milsom, K. G. McCracken, and G. R. Scott. Mitochondrial physiology in the skeletal and cardiac muscles is altered in torrent ducks, Merganetta armata, from high altitudes in the Andes. Journal of Experimental Biology 219:3719-3728 - doi:10.1242/jeb.142711
     
2016
Kopuchian, C., L. Campagna, A. S. Di Giacomo, R. E. Wilson, P. Petracci, M. Bulgarella, J. M. Barnett, R. Mattus, O. Blank, and K. G. McCracken. Demographic history inferred from genome-wide data reveals two lineages of sheldgeese endemic to a glacial refugium in the Southern Atlantic. Journal of Biogeography 43:1979-1989 - doi:10.1111/jbi.12767
     
2016
Escalante, G. C., A. D. Sweet, K. G. McCracken, D. R. Gustafsson, R. E. Wilson, and K. P. Johnson. Patterns of cryptic host specificity in duck lice based on molecular data. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 30:200-208 - doi:10.1111/mve.12157
     
2016
Lavretsky, P., J. L. Peters, K. Winker, V. Bahn, I. Kulikova, Y. N. Zhuravlev, R. E. Wilson, C. Barger, K. Gurney, and K. G. McCracken. Becoming pure: identifying generational classes of admixed individuals within lesser and greater scaup populations. Molecular Ecology 25:661-674 - doi:10.1111/mec.13487
     
2016
Toews, D. P. L., L. Campagna, S. A. Taylor, C. N. Balakrishnan, D. T. Baldassarre, P. E. Deane-Coe, M. G. Harvey, D. M. Hooper, D. E. Irwin, C. D. Judy, N. A. Mason, J. E. McCormack, K. G. McCracken, C. H. Oliveros, R. J. Safran, E. S. C. Scordato, K. F. Stryjewski, A. Tigano, J. A. C. Uy, and B. M. Winger. Genomic approaches to understanding population divergence and speciation in birds. Auk 133:13-30 - doi:10.1642/AUK-15-51.1
     
2015
Natarajan, C., J. Projecto-Garcia, H. Moriyama, R. E. Weber, V. Muñoz-Fuentes, A. J. Green, C. Kopuchian, P. L. Tubaro, L. Alza, M. Bulgarella, M. M. Smith, R. E. Wilson, A. Fago, K. G. McCracken, and J. F. Storz. Convergent evolution of hemoglobin function in high-altitude Andean waterfowl involves limited parallelism at the molecular sequence level. PLoS Genetics 11:e1005681 - doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1005681
     
2014
Peters, J. L., K. Winker, K. C. Millam, P. Lavretsky, I. Kulikova, R. E. Wilson, Y. N. Zhuravlev, and K. G. McCracken.  Mito-nuclear discord in six congeneric lineages of Holarctic ducks (genus Anas).  Molecular Ecology 23:2961-2974 - doi:10.1111/mec.12799
     
2014
Gutiérrez-Pinto, N., K. G. McCracken, L. Alza, P. Tubaro, C. Kopuchian, A. Astie, and C. D. Cadena.  The validity of ecogeographic rules is context dependent: Testing for Bergmann's and Allen's rules by latitude and elevation in a widespread Andean duck.  Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 4:850-862 - doi:10.1111/bij.12249
     
2014
Peters, J. L., S. A. Sonsthagen, P. Lavretsky, M. Rezsutek, W. P. Johnson, and K. G. McCracken.  Interspecific hybridization contributes to high genetic diversity and apparent effective population size in an endemic population of mottled ducks (Anas fulvigula maculosa). Conservation Genetics 15:509-520 - doi:10.1007/s10592-013-0557-9
     
2014
Bulgarella, M., C. Kopuchian, A. S. DiGiacomo, R. Matus, O. Blank, R. E. Wilson, and K. G. McCracken. Molecular phylogeny of the South American sheldgeese with implications for conservation of Falkland Islands (Malvinas) and continental populations of the Ruddy-headed Goose Chloephaga rubidiceps and Upland Goose C. picta. Bird Conservation International 24:59-71 - doi:10.1017/S0959270913000178
     
2014
Lavretsky, P., J. L. Peters, and K. G. McCracken. Phylogenetics of a recent radiation in the mallards and allies (genus Anas): inferences from a genomic transect and the multispecies coalescent. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 70:402-411 - doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2013.08.008
     
2013
McCracken, K. G., R. E. Wilson, and A. R. Martin. Gene flow and hybridization between numerically imbalanced populations of two ducks species on the subantarctic island of South Georgia. PLoS ONE 8:e82664.
     
2013
Pruett, C. L., C. M. Topp, J. M. Maley, K. G. McCracken, S. Rohwer, S. Birks, S. G. Sealy, and K. Winker.  Evidence from the genetics of landbirds for a forested glacial refugium in the Haida Gwaii area. Condor 115:725-737.
     
2013
Topp, C. M., C. L. Pruett, K. G. McCracken, and K. Winker. How migratory thrushes conquered northern North America: A comparative phylogeography approach. PeerJ 1:e206.
     
2013
Winker, K., K. G. McCracken, D. D. Gibson, and J. L. Peters. Heteropatric speciation in a duck, Anas crecca. Molecular Ecology 22:5922-5935.
     
2013 McCracken, K. G., R. E. Wilson, J. L. Peters, K. Winker, and A. R. Martin. Late Pleistocene colonization of South Georgia by Yellow-billed Pintails predates the Last Glacial Maximum. Journal of Biogeography 40:2348-2360.
     
2013
Muñoz-Fuentes, V., M. Cortázar-Chinarro, M. Lozano, and K. G. McCracken. Stepwise colonization of the Andes by Ruddy Ducks and the evolution of novel beta-globin variants. Molecular Ecology 22:1231-1249.
     
2013
Sonsthagen, S. A., S. L. Talbot, R. E. Wilson, M. Petersen, J. C. Williams, G. V. Byrd, and K. G. McCracken. Genetic structure of the Common Eider in the western Aleutian Islands prior to fox eradication. Condor 115:28-39.
     
2013
Wilson, R. E., J. L. Peters, and K. G. McCracken. Genetic and phenotypic divergence between low- and high-altitude populations of two recently diverged Cinnamon Teal subspecies. Evolution 67:170-184.
     
2012
Peters, J. L., K. G. McCracken, C. L. Pruett, S. Rohwer, S. V. Drovetski, Y. Zhuravlev, I. Kulikova, D. D. Gibson, and K. Winker. A parapatric propensity for breeding may preclude the completion of speciation in common teal (Anas crecca, sensu lato). Molecular Ecology 21:4563-4577.
     
2012
McCracken, K. G., Alza, L. A, McCracken, T. G., and Smith, M. M. Parasitism and joint incubation of Upland Goose (Chloephaga picta) nest by Yellow-billed Pintail (Anas Georgica). Ornitologia Neotropical 23:287-290.
     
2012
Wilson, R. E., M. D. Eaton, and K. G. McCracken. Plumage and body size differences in Blue-winged Teal and Cinnamon Teal. Avian Biology Research 5:107-116.
     
2012
Peters, J. L., T. E. Roberts, K. Winker, and K. G. McCracken. Heterogeneity in genetic diversity among non-coding loci fails to fit neutral coalescent models of population history. PLoS ONE 7:e31972.
     
2012
Bulgarella, M., J. L. Peters, C. Kopuchian, T. Valqui, R. E. Wilson, and K. G. McCracken. Multilocus coalescent analysis of haemoglobin differentiation between low- and high-altitude populations of crested ducks (Lophonetta specularioides). Molecular Ecology 21:350-368.
     
2011
Booms, T. L., S. L. Talbot, G. K. Sage, B. J. McCaffery, K. G. McCracken, and P. F. Schempf. Nest-site fidelity and dispersal of Gyrfalcons estimated by noninvasive genetic sampling. Condor 113:768-778.
     
2011
Wilson, R. E., M. D. Eaton, S. A. Sonsthagen, J. L. Peters, K. P. Johnson, B. Simarra, and K. G. McCracken. Speciation, subspecies divergence, and paraphyly in Cinnamon Teal and Blue-winged Teal. Condor 113:747-761.
     
2011
McCracken, K. G., and R. E. Wilson. Gene flow and hybridization between numerically imbalanced populations of two duck species in the Falkland Islands. PLoS ONE 6:e23173
     
2011
Sonsthagen, S. A., S. L. Talbot, K. T. Scribner, and K. G. McCracken. Multilocus phylogeography and population structure of common eiders breeding in North America and Scandinavia. Journal of Biogeography 38:1368-1380
     
2010
Guay, P.-J., R. T. Chesser, R. A. Mulder, A. D. Afton, D. C. Paton, and K. G. McCracken. East-west genetic differentiation in Musk Ducks (Biziura lobata) of Australia suggests late Pleistocene divergence at the Nullarbor Plain. Conservation Genetics 11:2105-2120
 
 
2010
McCracken, K. G., C. P. Barger, and M. D. Sorenson. Phylogenetic and structural analysis of the HbA (alpha-A/beta-A) and HbD (alpha-D/beta-A) hemoglobin genes in two high-altitude waterfowl from the Himalayas and the Andes: Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus) and Andean Goose (Chloephaga melanoptera). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 56:649-658
 
 
2010
Bulgarella, M., M. D. Sorenson, J. L. Peters, R. E. Wilson, and K. G. McCracken. Phylogenetic relationships of Amazonetta, Speculanas, Lophonetta, and Tachyeres: Four morphologicall divergent duck genera endemic to South America. Journal of Avian Biology 41:186-199
 
 
2010
Wilson, R. E., M. Eaton, T. H. Valqui, and K. G. McCracken.  Ecogeographic variation in Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera) along elevational and latitudinal gradients.  Ornithological Monographs 67:141-161
 
 
2010
Sonsthagen, S. A., S. L. Talbot, R. B. Lanctot, and K. G. McCracken. Do waterfowl nest in kin groups? Microgeographic genetic structure in a philopatric sea duck. Molecular Ecology 19:647-657
 
 
2009
McCracken, K. G., C. P. Barger, M. Bulgarella, K. P. Johnson, M. K. Kuhner, A. V. Moore, J. L. Peters., J. Trucco, T. H. Valqui, K. Winker, and R. E. Wilson. Signatures of high-altitude adaptation in the major hemoglobin of five species of Andean dabbling ducks. American Naturalist 174:631-650 [Supplemental Figures & Tables]
 
 
2009
Pearce, J. M., K. G. McCracken, T. K. Christensen, and Y. N. Zhuravlev. Migratory patterns and population structure among breeding and wintering Red-breated (Mergus serrator) and Common Mergansers (M. merganser). The Auk 126:784-798
 
 
2009
Sonsthagen, S. A., S. L. Talbot, R. B. Lanctot, K. Scribner, and K. G. McCracken.  Hierarchical spatial genetic structure of Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima) breeding along a migratory corridor.  The Auk 126:744-754
 
 
2009
McCracken, K. G., C. P. Barger, M. Bulgarella, K. P. Johnson, S. A. Sonsthagen, J. Trucco, T. H. Valqui, R. E. Wilson, K. Winker, and M. D. Sorenson. Parallel evolution in the major haemoglobin genes of eight species of Andean waterfowl. Molecular Ecology 18:3992-4005
 
 
2009
Bulgarella, M., N. C. Stewart, V. B. Fedorov, A. V. Moore, and K. G. McCracken. Hemoglobin transcript abundance in a bone marrow cDNA library of Crested Ducks (Lophonetta specularioides) in the Peruvian high Andes. The Auk 126:666-672 [Summary of dbEST accessions]
 
 
2009
McCracken, K. G., M. Bulgarella, K. P. Johnson, M. K. Kuhner, J. Trucco, T. H. Valqui, R. E. Wilson, and J. L. Peters.  Gene flow in the face of countervailing selection: Adaptation to high-altitude hypoxia in the beta A hemoglobin subunit of Yellow-billed Pintails.  Molecular Biology and Evolution 26:815-827 [Cited by Faculty of 1000]
 
 
2009
Schmidt, J. I., K. J. Hundertmark, R. T. Bowyer, and K. G. McCracken.  Population structure and genetic diversity of moose in Alaska.  Journal of Heredity 100:170-180
 
 
2008
Wilson, R. E., and K. G. McCracken. Specimen shrinkage in Cinnamon Teal. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 120:390-392
 
 
2008
Wilson, R. E., M. Eaton, and K. G. McCracken. Color divergence among Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera) subspecies from North America and South America. Ornitologia Neotropical 19:307-314
 
 
2007
Bulgarella, M., R. E. Wilson, C. Kopuchian, T. H. Valqui, and K. G. McCracken. Elevational variation in body size of Crested Ducks (Lophonetta specularioides) from the Central High Andes, Mendoza, and Patagonia. Ornitologia Neotropical 18:587-602
 
 
2007
Sonsthagen, S. A., S. L. Talbot, and K. G. McCracken. Genetic characterization of Common Eiders breeding in the Yukon-Kuskokwin Delta, Alaska. Condor 109:878-893
 
 
2007
Wilson, R. E., S. A. Sonsthagen, C. P. Barger, and K. G. McCracken. Asymmetric molt or feather wear in Flying Steamer Ducks (Tachyeres patachonicus) from coastal habitats in Argentina. Ornitologia Neotropical 18:293-300
 
 
2007
McCracken, K. G. [Review of] Ducks, Geese, and Swans, Vol. 1 & 2.  Quarterly Review of Biology 82:157
 
 
2007
Brennan, P. L. R., R. O. Prum, K. G. McCracken, M. D. Sorenson, R. E. Wilson, and T. R. Birkhead. Coevolution of male and female genital morphology in waterfowl. PLoS ONE 2:e419
 
 
2007
Winker, K. , K. G. McCracken, D. D. Gibson, C. L. Pruett, R. Meier, F. Huettmann, M. Wege, I. V. Kulikova, Y. N. Zhuravlev, M. L. Perdue, E. Spackman, D. L. Suarez , and D. E. Swayne. Movement of birds and avian influenza from Asia to Alaska. Emerging Infectious Diseseases 13:547-552
 
 
2007
Spackman, E., K. G. McCracken, K. Winker, and D. E. Swayne. An avian influenza virus from waterfowl in South America contains genes from North American avian and equine lineages. Avian Diseases 51:273-274
 
 
2006
Wilson, R. E., T. H. Valqui, and K. G. McCracken. Aberrant plumage in the Yellow-billed Pintail Anas georgica. Wildfowl 56:192-196
 
 
2006
Sonsthagen, S. A., S. L. Talbot, R. B. Lanctot, K. T. Scribner, and K. G. McCracken. Population genetic structure of Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima) nesting on coastal barrier islands adjacent to oil facilities in the Beaufort Sea, Alaska. U.S. Department of Interior, Minerals Management Service, Final Report OCS Study MMS 2006-40:1-94.
 
 
2006
Spackman, E., K. G. McCracken, K. Winker, and D. E Swayne.  H7N3 avian influenza virus found in a South American wild duck is related to the Chilean 2002 poultry outbreak, contains genes from equine and North American wild bird lineages, and is adapted to domestic turkeys.  Journal of Virology 80:7760–7764
 
 
2006
Johnson, K. P., M. Kennedy, and K. G. McCracken. Reinterpreting the origins of flamingo lice: Cospeciation or host-switching. Biology Letters 2:275-278
 
 
2005
Kulikova, I. V., S. V. Drovetski, D. D. Gibson, R. J. Harrigan, S. Rohwer, M. D. Sorenson, K. Winker, Y. N. Zhuravlev, and K. G. McCracken. Phylogeography of the Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos): Hybridization, dispersal, and lineage sorting contribute to complex geographic structure. The Auk 122:949-965
 
 
2005
Peters, J. L., K. G. McCracken, R. E. Wilson, Y. N. Zhuravlev, Y. Lu, K. P. Johnson, and K. E. Omland. Phylogenetics of wigeons and allies (Anatidae: Anas spp.): The importance of sampling multiple loci and multiple individuals. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 35:209-224
 
 
2005
McCracken, K. G., and M. D. Sorenson. Is homoplasy or lineage sorting the source of incongruent mtDNA and nuclear gene trees in the stiff-tailed ducks (Nomonyx-Oxyura)? Systematic Biology 54:35-55
 
 
2005
Callaghan, D., and K. G. McCracken. Musk Duck: Taxonomy pp. 213 in J. Kear (ed.) Bird Families of the World: Ducks, Geese, and Swans. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
 
 
2005
McCracken, K. G. Musk Duck Biziura lobata pp. 213-217 in J. Kear (ed.) Bird Families of the World: Ducks, Geese, and Swans. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
 
 
2005
Callaghan, D., and K. G. McCracken. The stiff-tailed ducks and their allies: Taxonomy in J. Kear (ed.) pp. 343-346 in Bird Families of the World: Ducks, Geese, and Swans. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
 
 
2004
Wilson, R. E., S. D. Goldfeder, and K. G. McCracken. Bill sexual dichromatism of Yellow-billed Pintail (Anas georgica) and Speckled Teal (A. flavirostris). Ornitologia Neotropical 15:543-545
 
 
2004
Kulikova, I. V., Y. N. Zhuravlev, and K. G. McCracken. Asymmetric hybridization and sex-biased gene flow between Eastern Spot-billed Ducks and Mallards in the Russian Far East. The Auk 121:930-949
 
 
2003
McCracken, K. G., J. Hemmings, D. C. Paton, and A. D. Afton. Capture methods for Musk Ducks. Wildfowl 54:211-214
 
 
2002
McCracken, K. G., P. J. Fullagar, E. C. Slater, D. C. Paton, and A. D. Afton. Advertising displays of male Musk Ducks indicate population subdivision across the Nullarbor Plain of Australia. Wildfowl 53:137-154
 
 
2001
McCracken, K. G., R. E. Wilson, P. J. McCracken, and K. P. Johnson.  Are ducks impressed by drakes' display.  Nature 413:128
 
 
2001
McCracken, K. G., W. P. Johnson, and F. H. Sheldon.  Molecular population genetics, phylogeography, and conservation biology of the Mottled Duck (Anas fulvigula ).  Conservation Genetics 2:87-102
 
 
2001
McClellan, D. A., and K. G. McCracken.  Estimating the influence of selection on the variable amino acid sites of the cytochrome b protein functional domains.  Molecular Biology and Evolution 18:917-925
 
 
2000
McCracken, K. G., D. C. Paton, and A. D. Afton.  Sexual size dimorphism of the Musk Duck.  Wilson Bulletin 112:457-466
 
 
2000
McCracken, K. G., J. Harshman, M. D. Sorenson, and K. P. Johnson.  Are Ruddy Ducks and White-headed Ducks the same species?  British Birds 93:396-398
 
 
2000
McCracken, K. G., A. D. Afton, and D. C. Paton.  Nest and eggs of Musk Ducks (Biziura lobata) at Murray Lagoon, Cape Gantheaume Conservation Park, Kangaroo Island, South Australia.  South Australian Ornithologist 33:65-70
 
 
2000
McCracken, K. G.  The 20-cm spiny penis of the Argentine Lake Duck (Oxyura vittata).  The Auk 117:820-825 
 
 
2000
McCracken, K. G., A. D. Afton, and M. S. Peters.  Condition bias of hunter-shot Ring-necked Ducks exposed to lead.  Journal of Wildlife Management 64:584-590
 
 
2000
Sheldon, F. H., C. E. Jones, and K. G. McCracken.  Relative patterns and rates of evolution in heron nuclear and mitochondrial DNA.  Molecular Biology and Evolution 17:437-450
 
 
1999
McCracken, K. G., J. Harshman, D. A. McClellan, and A. D. Afton.  Data set incongruence and correlated character evolution: An example of functional convergence in the hind-limbs of stifftail diving ducks.  Systematic Biology 48:683-714
 
 
1999
McCracken, K. G. Systematics, ecology, and social biology of the Musk Duck (Biziura lobata) of Australia.  Ph.D. Dissertation, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
 
 
1998
McCracken, K. G. [Review of] Ruddy ducks and other stifftails: Their behavior and biology.  Quarterly Review of Biology 73:362-363
 
 
1998
McCracken, K. G., and F. H. Sheldon.  Molecular and osteological heron phylogenies: Sources of incongruence.  The Auk 115:127-141
 
 
1997
McCracken, K. G., A. D. Afton, and R. T. Alisauskas.  Nest morphology and body size of Ross's Geese and Lesser Snow Geese.  The Auk 114:610-618
 
 
1997
McCracken, K. G., and F. H. Sheldon.  Avian vocalizations and phylogenetic signal.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA. 94:3833-3836
 
 
1995
Sheldon, F. H., K. G. McCracken, and K. D. Stuebing.  Phylogenetic relationships of the Zigzag Heron (Zebrilus undulatus) and White-crested Bittern (Tigriornis leucolophus) estimated by DNA-DNA hybridization.  The Auk 112: 672-679
 
 
1995
McCracken, K. G., D. Amrol, N. Walker, and G. B. Craig, Jr.  Ectoparasites from mammals of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  Vector Control Bulletin of the North Central States 4:42-53.
       
 
Lake Titicaca, Puno, Peru - 15 August 2014
 
Office #136 Marine Technology & Life Sciences Seawater Research Building (RSMAS)
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