{"id":62,"date":"2015-08-31T11:24:27","date_gmt":"2015-08-31T15:24:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/faculty\/profile\/don-c-dearborn\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T08:43:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T12:43:06","slug":"donald-c-dearborn","status":"publish","type":"faculty-profile","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/faculty\/profile\/donald-c-dearborn\/","title":{"rendered":"Donald C. Dearborn"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><strong>Professor of Biology<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><strong>Evolution, Behavior, and Conservation Biology<\/strong><em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<p>My <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/dearborn-lab\/research\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">research<\/a> asks why animals do the things they do, and how we can do a better job of mitigating our impacts on the natural world. Combining lab work with fieldwork on remote islands, I explore how evolution and human activity shape the genetics and behavior of animals, sometimes conveniently intersecting with my love of trail running and mountain adventures.. Recurring research themes include mate choice, parental investment strategies, population structure, and host-parasite evolution. Most of this work is with seabirds and songbirds.\u00a0\u00a0I use a mix of lab methods (mainly genetics tools) and field methods.<\/p>\n<p>My recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/dearborn-lab\/teaching\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">teaching<\/a> at Bates includes: Avian Biology,\u00a0 Genetics of Conservation Biology (BIES 333), Evolution and Interactions of Life (BIO 206), a Host-Parasite Evolution version of BIO 195, Biological Research Experience: Molecules to Ecosystems (BIO 204), and Advanced Topics in Evolution (BIO 355).<\/p>\n<h4>Selected Publications<\/h4>\n<p>Stratton JB*, Dearborn DC. 2021.\u00a0 Nest sanitation behavior does not increase the likelihood of parasitic egg rejection in herring gulls.\u00a0 <strong>Current Zoology<\/strong> 67:675-681.<\/p>\n<p>Rand L*, Woodward C*, May R*, Ackerman RA*, Tweedie B*, Zicarelli TB*, Dearborn DC. 2019.\u00a0 Divergence between genes but limited allelic polymorphism in two MHC class II A genes in Leach\u2019s storm-petrels\u00a0<em>Oceanodroma leucorhoa<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0<strong>Immunogenetics<\/strong>\u00a071:561-573.<\/p>\n<p>Tonelli B* and Dearborn DC. 2019.\u00a0 An individual-based model for the dispersal of\u00a0<em>Ixodes<\/em>\u00a0<em>scapularis<\/em>\u00a0by ovenbirds and wood thrushes during fall migration.\u00a0\u00a0<strong>Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases<\/strong>\u00a010:1096-1104.<\/p>\n<p>Mauck RA, Dearborn DC, and Huntington CE.\u00a0 2018. \u00a0Annual Global Mean Temperature explains reproductive success in a marine vertebrate from 1955-2010<em>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><strong>Global Change Biology<\/strong>\u00a024:1599-1613.<\/p>\n<p>Dearborn DC, Kark S. 2010. Motivations for conserving urban biodiversity.\u00a0\u00a0<strong>Conservation Biology<\/strong>\u00a024:432-440.<\/p>\n<p>* = Bates student<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":590,"featured_media":7889,"template":"","class_list":["post-62","faculty-profile","type-faculty-profile","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","expertise-animal-behavior","expertise-conservation-biology","expertise-evolution","expertise-genetics","expertise-specific-biodiversity","expertise-specific-birds","expertise-specific-host-parasite-interactions","expertise-specific-islands","expertise-specific-mate-choice","expertise-specific-parental-care","expertise-specific-population-genetics","expertise-specific-reproductive-strategies","what-i-teach-avian-biology","what-i-teach-conservation-biology","what-i-teach-ecology","what-i-teach-evolution","what-i-teach-genetics","what-i-teach-specific-classical-and-population-genetics-and-form-of-birds","what-i-teach-specific-ecology","what-i-teach-specific-ecology-of-birds","what-i-teach-specific-evolution","what-i-teach-specific-function-and-evolution-of-birds","what-i-teach-specific-theory-and-practice-of-biodiversity-conservation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faculty-profile\/62","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faculty-profile"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/faculty-profile"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/590"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faculty-profile\/62\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2590,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faculty-profile\/62\/revisions\/2590"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}