PhD Candidate (2021-present)

For my PhD, I am studying post-fledging survival and movement patterns of Savannah sparrows on Kent Island, NB. Demographic information covering the full annual cycle of a species is crucial to our understanding of population dynamics and is necessary to address population declines. However, we often lack this information for juvenile migratory birds, particularly in the post-fledging period after juveniles leave the nest but before they depart for migration. Mortality rates of fledglings are often much higher than in other life stages because inexperienced young birds are more vulnerable to predators and at higher risk of starvation. These pressures drive movement patterns of fledglings as they seek food and shelter. I am evaluating the causes and consequences of variation in fledgling survival and movement patterns.

I completed my B.Sc. in Biology at the University of Puget Sound in 2017, then worked as a seasonal avian field technician for a few years on a variety of projects including banding in Point Reyes CA, nest-searching in the northern Sierra Nevadas, Montana, and Australia, and monitoring acorn woodpeckers in Carmel Valley, CA. Outside of research, I am the lead coordinator of Bird Safe Guelph, a student-led initiative that aims to promote bird conservation in Guelph through education and action, and I coordinated Guelph Bird Day from 2022-2024. When not working, I can be found knitting, hiking, birding, or baking.

Publications

Mueller, S. D., D. J. Mennill, S. M. Doucet, S. L. Dobney, H. A. Spina, and D. R. Norris. Weather and local density influence post-fledging survival of a migratory songbird. In review

Spina, H. A., D. R. Norris, N. T. Wheelwright, D. J. Mennill, S. M. Doucet, J. B. Burant, S. L. Dobney, S. D. Mueller, G. W. Mitchell, B. K. Woodworth, and A. E. M. Newman. 2025. Causes and consequences of within-population variation in interbrood interval of a migratory songbird. Accepted pending minor revisions: Ibis.

Mueller, S. D., D. J. Mennill, S. M. Doucet, S. L. Dobney, H. A. Spina, and D. R. Norris. 2025. Factors influencing the movement patterns of juvenile Passerculus sandwichensis (Savannah sparrow) throughout the post-fledging period. In press: Ornithology.

Spina, H. A., A. E. M. Newman, N. T. Wheelwright, D. J. Mennill, S. M. Doucet, J. B. Burant, S. L. Dobney, S. D. Mueller, G. W. Mitchell, and D. R. Norris. 2025. Multigenerational fitness outcomes of double-brooding: a 30-year study of a migratory songbird. In press: Behavioral Ecology.

Mueller, S. D., N. T. Wheelwright, D. J. Mennill, A. E. M. Newman, S. M. Doucet, J. B. Burant, S. L. Dobney, G. W. Mitchell, H. A. Spina, and D. R. Norris. 2025. Population density and timing of breeding mediate effects of early life conditions on recruitment. Biology Letters. 12(4):20240689.

Mueller, S. D., N. T. Wheelwright, D. J. Mennill, A. E. M. Newman, S. M. Doucet, J. B. Burant, S. L. Dobney, G. W. Mitchell, H. A. Spina, B. K. Woodworth, and D. R. Norris. 2025. Reduced fitness of secondary females in a polygynous species: a 32-yr study of Savannah sparrows. Behavioral Ecology 36:arae093.

Spina, H. A., D. R. Norris, L. Nong, S. L. Dobney, S. D. Mueller, N. E. Freeman, S. M. Doucet, D. J. Mennill, and A. E. M. Newman. 2025. Corticosterone predicts double-brooding in female savannah sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis). Hormones and Behavior 168:105679.

Suarez Sharma, S. P., S. L. Dobney, D. R. Norris, S. M. Doucet, A. E. M. Newman, J. B. Burant, I. G. Moran, S. D. Mueller, H. A. Spina, and D. J. Mennill. 2024. Effects of age, breeding strategy, population density, and number of neighbors on territory size and shape in Passerculus sandwichensis (Savannah Sparrow). Ornithology 141:ukae025.

Hope, A. G., R. B. Stephens, S. D. Mueller, V. V. Tkach, and J. R. Demboski. 2019. Speciation of North American pygmy shrews (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae) supports spatial but not temporal congruence of diversification among boreal species. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 129:41–60. doi: 10.1093/biolinnean/blz139.

Skinner, H. M., A. M. Durso, L. A. Neuman-Lee, S. L. Durham, S. D. Mueller, and S. S. French. 2016. Effects of diet restriction and diet complexity on life history strategies in side-blotched lizards (Uta stansburiana). Journal of Experimental Zoology 325:626–637. doi: 10.1002/jez.2056