Google Scholar citations: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ed0yo_QAAAAJ&hl=en
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Published peer-reviewed articles:
^undergraduate co-author
*equal contribution of authors
54). Whitenack, L.E., Richmond, A., Sonnenberg, B.R., Welklin, J.F., Heinen, V.K.,Pitera, A.M., Branch, C.L.*, Pravosudov, V.V.* Postnatal dispersal and drivers of successful recruitment in resident Mountain Chickadees, Ornithology.
53). Robayo Noguera, L., Stevenson, C.A.L., Wang, T., Pasquale, M.K., Branch, C.L. Variation in plumage reflectance but not song reflects spatial cognitive performance in black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus). Special Collection for Animal Cognition: Cognition and Behavior in Food-caching Birds.
52).Taylor, O., Grabenstein, K., Theodosopoulos, A., Leeson, H., Taylor, S.A., Branch, C.L. 2025. Chickadees sing different songs in the allopatry versus sympatry. Journal of Evolutionary Biology.
51). Welklin, J.F., Sonnenberg, B.R., Branch, C.L., Pitera, A.M., Heinen, V.K., Benedict, L.M., Whitenack, L.E., Kozlovsky, D.Y., Pravosudov, V.V. No evidence of reproductive senescence within the natural lifespan in resident mountain chickadees (Poecile gambeli), Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.
50). Pravosudov, V.V., Sonnenberg, B.R., Branch, C.L., Heinen, V.K., Welklin, J.F.,Semenov, G., Taylor, S. 2024. Living on the edge: the evolution of spatial cognition in food-caching chickadees. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.
49).Welklin, J.F., Sonnenberg, B.R., Branch, C.L., Heinen, V.K., Pitera, A.M., Benedict, L.M., Whitenack, L.E., Bridge, E.S., Pravosudov, V.V. 2024. Spatial cognitive ability is associated with longevity in a food-caching bird. Science. Cover Photo.
48).Haley, S.M., Madhusudhana, S., Branch C.L. 2024. Comparing detection accuracy of mountain chickadee (Poecile gambeli) song by two deep-learning algorithms. Invited for Research Topic: Computational Bioacoustics and Automated Recognition of Bird Vocalizations: New Tools, Applications and Methods for Bird Monitoring. Frontiers in Bird Science, 3: 1425463.
47). Whitenack, L.E., Sonnenberg, B.R., Branch, C.L., Pitera, A.M., Welklin, J.F., Kozlovsky, D.Y., Heinen, V.K., Benedict, L.M., Pravosudov, V.V. 2024. Relative breeding timing and reproductive success of a resident montane bird species. Royal Society Open Science.
46). Pitera, A.M., Heinen, V.K., Welklin, J.F., Branch, C.L., Sonnenberg, B.R., Benedict, L.M., Bridge, E.S., Pravosudov, V.V. In Press. Spatiotemporal variation in cognitive phenotype, social network position, and distribution of social associations in a food-caching bird. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.
45). Semenov, G., Sonnenberg, B.R., Branch, C.L., Heinen, V.K., Welklin, J.F., Padula, S.R., Patel, A.M., Bridge, E.S., Pravosudov, V.V., Taylor, S. In Press. Genes and gene networks underlying spatial cognition in food-caching chickadees. Current Biology.
44). Sonnenberg, B.R., Branch, C.L., Pitera, A.M., Benedict, L.M., Heinen, V.K., Ouyang, J.Q., Pravosudov, V.V. In Press. Feather growth during the prebasic molt varies with elevation but not reproductive output in resident Mountain Chickadees. Ornithology.
43).Branch, C.L., Welklin, J.F., Sonnenberg, B., Benedict, L., Heinen, V., Pitera, A., Bridge, E.S., Pravosudov, V.V. 2023. What’s in a mate? Social pairing decisions and cognitive performance in food-caching mountain chickadees. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 290, 20231073. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.1073.
42).Heinen, V., Pitera, A., Sonnenberg, B., Branch, C.L., Benedict, L., Welklin, J., Whitenack, L., Bridge, E., Pravosudov, V.V. 2023. Food-caching chickadees with specialized spatial cognition do not use scrounging as a stable strategy when learning a spatial task. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 290, 20230900.
41). Whitenack, L.E., Welklin, J.F., Branch, C.L., Sonnenberg, B.R., Pitera, A.M., Kozlovsky, D.Y., Benedict, L.M., Heinen, V.K., Pravosudov, V.V. 2023. Complex relationships between climate and reproduction in a resident montane bird. Royal Society Open Science 10, 230554.
40). Welklin, J., Branch, C.L., Pitera, A. Sonnenberg, B, Benedict, L., Heinen, V., Kozlovsky, D., Pravosudov, V.V. 2023. Females pair with males larger than themselves in a socially monogamous songbird. Animal Behaviour 199, 35-49.
39). Sonnenberg, B.R., Welklin, J.F., Branch, C.L., Pitera, A.M., Benedict, L.M., Heinen, V.K., Kozlovsky, D.Y., Bridge, E.S., Pravosudov, V.V. 2022. Long-term winter food supplementation in a montane environment shows no significant impact on reproductive success in a resident food-caching bird. Ornithology. Cover Photo.
38). Sonnenberg, B.R., Heinen, V.K., Pitera, A.M., Benedict, L.M., Branch, C.L., Bridge, E.S., Ouyang, J., Pravosudov, V.V. 2022. Natural variation in developmental condition has limited effect on spatial cognition in a wild food-caching bird. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 289, 1984. Cover Photo. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.1169
37). Huang, S.^, Schaening-Lopez, D.^, Halterman, G.^, Pravosudov, V.V., Branch, C.L. 2022. Song output along a montane gradient: high elevation birds sing more at dawn compared to low elevation birds. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-022-03246-x
36). Sonnenberg, B.R., Branch, C.L., Pitera, A.M., Benedict, L.M., Heinen, V.K., Pravosudov, V.V. 2022. Food hoarding and nest-building propensities are associated in a cavity-nesting bird. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 76, 14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-021-03114-0
35). Branch, C.L.*, Semenov, G.*, Wagner, D.N., Sonnenberg, B.R., Pitera, A.M., Bridge, E.S., Taylor, S.A., Pravosudov, V.V. 2022. The genetic basis of spatial cognitive variation in a food-caching bird. Current Biology 32, 210-219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.10.036
34). Benedict, L.M., Pitera, A.M., Branch, C.L., Sonnenberg, B.R., Heinen, V., Bridge, E., Pravosudov, V.V. 2021. Information maintenance of food sources is associated with environment, spatial cognition and age in a food-caching bird. Animal Behaviour 182, 153-172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.10.009
33). Pitera, A.M., Branch, C.L., Sonnenberg, B.R., Benedict, L.M., Kozlovsky, D.Y., Pravosudov, V.V. 2021. The more you know: Breeding experience effects reproductive output in a socially monogamous bird. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 75, 101. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-021-03042-z
32). Heinen, V., Pitera, A.M., Sonnenberg, B.R., Benedict, L.M., Branch, C.L., Bridge, E., Pravosudov, V.V. 2021. Specialized spatial cognition is associated with reduced cognitive senescence in a food-caching bird. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 288: 20203180. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.3180
31). Branch, C.L., Sonnenberg, B.R., Pitera, A.M., Benedict, L., Kozlovsky, D.Y., Bridge, E., Pravosudov, V.V. 2020. Testing the greater male variability phenomenon: male mountain chickadees exhibit larger variation in reversal learning performance compared to females. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 287: 20200895. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.0895
30). Sonnenberg, B.R., Branch, C.L., Benedict, L.M., Pitera, A.M., Pravosudov, V.V. 2020. Ambient temperature, nest structure, and reproductive success in cavity nesting mountain chickadees at different elevations. Animal Behaviour, 165: 43-58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.04.011
29). Benedict, L., Pitera, A.M., Branch, C.L., Sonnenberg, B.R., Pravosudov, V.V. 2020. Elevation-related differences in annual survival of adult food-caching mountain chickadees are consistent with natural selection on spatial cognition. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 74: 40. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00265-020-2817-2
28). Branch, C.L., and Pravosudov, V.V. 2020. Variation in song structure along an elevation gradient in a resident songbird. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 74: 9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-019-2786-5
27). Branch, C.L., Pitera, A.M., Kozlovsky, D.Y., Sonnenberg, B., Benedict, L., and Pravosudov, V.V. 2019. Elevation-related differences in the age structure of breeding birds suggest stronger selection at harsher elevations. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 73: 143. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00265-019-2750-4
26). Bridge, E.S., Wilhelm, J., Pandit, M.M., Moreno, A., Curry, C.M., Pearson, T.D., Proppe, D.S., Eadie, J.M., Stair, T.F., Olson, A.C., Lyon, B.E., Branch, C.L., Pitera, A.M., Kozlovsky, D., Sonnenberg, B.R., Pravosudov, V.V., Ruyle, J.E. 2019. An Arduino-based RFID platform for animal research. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7: 257. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00257
25). Branch, C.L.*, Pitera, A.M.*, Kozlovsky, D.Y., Bridge, E., Pravosudov, V.V. 2019. Smart is the new sexy: Female mountain chickadees increase reproductive investment when mated to males with better spatial cognition. Ecology Letters, 22, 897-903. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13249
24). Sonnenberg, B., Branch, C.L., Pitera, A.M., Bridge, E., Pravosudov, V.V. 2019. Natural selection and spatial cognition in wild food-caching mountain chickadees. Current Biology, 29, 670-676. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.01.006
23). Tello-Ramos, M. C., Branch, C.L., Kozlovsky, D.Y., Pitera, A.M., Pravosudov, V.V. 2019. Spatial memory and cognitive flexibility trade-offs: to be or not to be flexible, that is the question? Animal Behaviour, 147, 129-136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.02.019
22). Pitera, A.M., Branch, C.L., Bridge, E., Pravosudov, V.V. 2018. Daily foraging routines in food-caching mountain chickadees are associated with variation in environmental harshness. Animal Behaviour, 143, 93-104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.07.011
21). Kozlovsky, D.Y., Branch, C.L.*, Pitera, A.M.*, Croston, R., and Pravosudov, V.V. 2018. Fluctuations in annual climatic extremes are associated with reproductive variation in resident mountain chickadees. Royal Society Open Science, 5: 171604. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.171604
20). Tello-Ramos, M. C., Branch, C.L.*, Pitera, A.M.*, Kozlovsky, D.Y., Bridge, E.S., Pravosudov, V.V. 2018. Spatial memory in wild mountain chickadees from different elevations: comparing first year birds with survivors. Animal Behaviour, 137, 149-160. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.12.019
19). Branch, C.L., Jahner, J.P., Kozlovsky, D.Y., Pitera, A.M., Parchman, T.L., and Pravosudov, V.V. 2017. Absence of population structure across elevations despite large phenotypic variation in mountain chickadees (Poecile gambeli). Royal Society Open Science, 4: 170057. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.170057
18). Croston, R., Branch, C.L., Pitera, A., Kozlovsky, D.Y., Bridge, E.S., Parchman, T.L., and Pravosudov, V.V. 2017. Predictably harsh environment is associated with reduced cognitive flexibility in wild food-caching mountain chickadees. Animal Behaviour, 123, 139-149.
17). Branch, C.L.*, Kozlovsky, D.Y.*, Croston, R., Pitera, A., and Pravosudov, V.V. 2016. Mountain chickadees successfully return to their post-natal dispersal settlements following long-term captivity. Behaviour, 153, 551-567. https://doi.org/10.1163/1568539X-00003363
16). Branch, C.L., and Pravosudov, V.V. 2016. Do male mountain chickadees discriminate between local and nonlocal elevation intruders? Ethology, 122, 376-388. https://doi.org/10.1111/eth.12487
15). Croston, R., Kozlovsky, D.Y., Branch, C.L., Parchman, T.L., Bridge, E.S., and Pravosudov, V.V. 2016. Individual variation in spatial memory performance in wild mountain chickadees from different elevations. Animal Behaviour, 111, 225-234. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.10.015
14). Croston, R., Branch, C.L., Kozlovsky, D.Y., Dukas, R., Pravosudov, V.V. 2015. The importance of heritability estimates for understanding the evolution of cognition: a response to comments on Croston et al. 2015 Behavioral Ecology, 26, 1463-1464.
13). Croston, R., Branch, C.L., Kozlovsky, D.Y., Dukas, R., and Pravosudov, V.V. 2015. Heritability and the evolution of cognitive traits. Behavioral Ecology, 26, 1447-1459. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arv088
12). Croston, R., Branch, C.L., Kozlovsky, D.Y., Freas, C., LaDage, L. Roth II, T., and Pravosudov, V.V. 2015. Population-level variation in spatial memory and the hippocampus –what are the mechanisms driving population-level differences? Integrative and Comparative Biology, 55, 354-371. https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icv029
11). Branch, C.L. and Pravosudov, V.V. 2015. Mountain chickadees from different elevations sing different songs: acoustic adaptation, temporal variation, or signal of local adaptation? Royal Society Open Science, 2: 150019. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.150019
10). Kozlovsky, D.Y, Branch, C.L., and Pravosudov, V.V. 2015. Problem solving ability and response to novelty in mountain chickadees (Poecile gambeli) from different elevations. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 69, 635-643. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-015-1874-4
9). Kozlovsky, D.Y., Branch, C.L., and Pravosudov, V.V. 2015. Elevation related variation in parental investment strategy is associated with differences in spatial memory in chickadees. Ethology, 4, 383-394. https://doi.org/10.1111/eth.12350
8). Branch, C.L., Kozlovsky, D.Y., and Pravosudov, V.V. 2015. Elevation related differences in female mate preferences in mountain chickadees: are smart chickadees choosier? Animal Behaviour, 99, 89-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.10.021
7). Branch, C.L., Kozlovsky, D.Y., and Pravosudov, V.V. 2015. Elevation related variation in aggressive response to mirror image in mountain chickadees. Behaviour, 152, 667-676. doi/10.1163/1568539X-00003248
6). Kozlovsky, D.Y.*, Branch, C.L.*, Freas, C.A., and Pravosudov, V.V. 2014. Elevation related differences in exploration and social dominance in mountain chickadees (Poecile gambeli). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 68, 1871-1881. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-014-1796-6
5). Kozlovsky, D.Y., Brown, S., Branch, C.L., Roth, T., and Pravosudov V.V. 2014. Chickadees with bigger brains have smaller stomachs: a multi-population comparison. Brain, Behavior and Evolution, 84, 172-182. https://doi.org/10.1159/000363686
4). Branch, C.L., Galizio, M., and Bruce, K. 2014. What-Where-When memory in the rodent odor span task. Learning and Motivation, 47, 18-29. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1016/j.lmot.2014.03.001
3). Freeberg, T. M. and Branch, C. L. 2013. Call variation in tufted titmice (Baeolophus bicolor) in a distress context: potential sex differences. Ethology, 119, 680-691. doi: 10.1111/eth.12109
2). Branch, C.L. and Freeberg, T. M. 2012. Distress calls in tufted titmice (Baeolophus bicolor): are conspecifics or predators the target? Behavioral Ecology, 23, 854-862. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/ars041
1). Bartmess-LeVasseur, J., Branch, C.L., Browning, S. A., Owens, J. L., and Freeberg, T. M. 2010. Predator stimuli and calling behavior of Carolina chickadees (Poecile carolinensis), tufted titmice (Baeolophus bicolor), and white-breasted nuthatches (Sitta carolinensis) Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 64, 1187-1198. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1007/s00265-010-0935-y
The Branch Lab 