Liberal Arts and Sciences
Kimball Lab
Led by Rebecca Kimball · Biology
What we study
The Kimball Lab studies how bird species and other organisms evolve by building family trees (phylogenies) and observing their behavior in the field. They also link DNA changes to traits using lab experiments and computer analysis.
What working here is like
- Wet lab
- Fieldwork
- Computational
- Wild animals
- Other insects
- Plants
- Papers
- 5
What we're looking for
“Most students in my lab have worked directly with me, though my graduate students have also mentored undergraduates in research. So if one of the graduate students have a project that interests you, you may also want to contact them directly.”
Recent papers, explained
- The Phylogenetic Position of the Extinct Hawaiian Honeyeaters: Overcoming the Limitations of Historical DNA
2026 · Zoologica Scripta
Analyzes how DNA damage affects the study of extinct Hawaiian honeyeaters.
- Founder effects drive high mitochondrial dN/dS in island rails
2026 · Evolution
Tests whether small island populations or relaxed selection explains high genetic changes in island rails.
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- Hormonal Influences on Sexual Dichromatism Across the Avian Tree of Life: A Primer
2026 · Integrative and Comparative Biology
Explores how hormones influence sex differences in bird colors across species.
- Genomic and physiological changes in a sexually selected and frugivorous bird radiation
2026 · Current Biology
Studies how diet and mating systems changed in manakin birds, linking them to sexual selection and plumage.
- Recombination and Incomplete Lineage Sorting Resolve the Enigma of Lysozyme Evolution
2026 · Journal of Molecular Evolution
Plain-language summaries are AI-written and reviewed by us; check the paper for details.
How to reach out
Rebecca Kimball hasn't set up this page yet. Their UF Scholars profile lists their publications.