Growing up spending time on her family’s farm amid Colombia’s astonishing biodiversity, Jenny Muñoz found her calling among birds rather than test tubes. Although she originally entered university intending to become an immunologist, an opportunity to help survey the endangered Red-bellied Grackle on the outskirts of Medellín changed the course of her life, sparking a passion for birds and tropical field biology that eventually led her to the Amazon rainforest, the high Andes, and ultimately to UBC.
Now completing her PhD in Zoology, Jenny studied mixed-species bird flocks in the tropics, combining long-term field observations and cutting-edge analyses to understand the ecological and evolutionary processes that allow these complex social bird groups to form, function, and persist. As the first in her family to pursue graduate studies, Jenny navigated the challenges of adapting to a new country and language while overcoming major personal and professional setbacks. Through it all, she built an ambitious research program grounded in resilience and collaboration. In many ways, the same lesson she discovered in tropical bird communities—that resilience and success emerge through social connections and support—also shaped her own journey.
When asked about her doctoral training, the three words that most come up for Jenny is “demanding and deeply rewarding”. Research in tropical ecology involves difficult fieldwork for long periods of time. Jenny had to develop her own scientific questions, methods, and analysis, often while out of communication with the outside world. One of her best discoveries was the importance of meaningful collaborations, which expanded her scientific perspective and strengthened her research skills. These collaborations opened doors to new ideas, networks, opportunities, and long-lasting professional relationships. From her perspective, collaborations are not usually emphasized, which is unfortunate. Jenny’s advice for all PhD students is to find a balance between their independent research and engaging in collaborative projects related to their interests, as these partnerships can greatly enrich both the scientific and personal experience of the PhD years.
PhD dissertation: Ecological implications of mixed-species grouping behaviour in birds
Peer reviewed publications:
- Based on PhD research and chapters:
Muñoz J., Kolencik S, Allen, Londoño G, Jankowski. In review. Birds of different feathers flock together: Parasites and mixed-species flocks. PNAS: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Muñoz J. & Jankowski. 2023. Mixed-species bird assemblages in a community context. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 378:20220104.
doi: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0104
- Collaborations during the PhD:
A Hargreaves, J Ensing, O Rahn, F Oliveira3, J Burkiewicz, J Lafond, S Haeussler, B Byerley-Best, K Lazda, H Slinn, E Martin, M Carlson, T Sformo, E Dawson, M Chiuffo, Y Vargas, C Jiménez, I Gomes, S N’Guessan, L Paolucci, S Joly, K Mehltreter, J Muñoz, C Buono, J Brodie, A Campbell, T Veen, B Freeman, J Lee-Yaw, C Muñoz, A Paquette, J Butler, E Suaréz. 2024. Latitudinal gradients in predation persist in urbanized environments. Nature Ecology and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02504-7J Byrnes; A Brown; K Sheridan; T Peller; J Lawlor; J Beaulieu; J Munoz-Z; A Hesketh; A Pereira; N Knight. 2022. Notes from the Past Show How Local Variability can Stymie Urchins and the Rise of the Reds in the Gulf of Maine. Ecosphere 15:4 e4800
G Mangini, C L. Rutt, H Sridhar, G Buitron, J Muñoz, S Robinson, F Montaño-Centellas, A Zarco, M. E Fanjul, G Fernandez, S Xing, E Camerlenghi. 2023. Mixed-species flocks of birds: A classification scheme. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 378: 20220100.
https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2022.0100Montaño-Centellas FA, Muñoz J, Mangini G, Ausprey, I J, Newell, F L,Jones, H H, Fanjul, M. Elisa, Tinoco BA, Colorado G J, Cahill J, Arbelaez CE, Marin, O, Astudillo, P X, Guevara, E, Ippi, S, McDermott, M E, Rodewald, A,Erick M, Robinson, S K. 2023. Network structure of avian mixed-species flocks decays with elevation and latitude across the Andes. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 378:20220099.
https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2022.0099Muñoz J. & Colorado G.J. 2021. The importance of mixed species bird flocks participation for migrants and residents: cost and benefits of foraging together. Journal of Field Ornithology. 92(3) 212-230
Muñoz J. & Londoño G. 2021. Nesting biology of the plain-throated Antwren (Isleria hauxwelli): an antbird with exceptional life history traits. Journal of Natural History, 55:29-30, 1825-1839
Cantero Margarita, Munoz J., Londoño G. 2020. Nesting information for the brown-winged Schiffornis (Schiffornis turdine). Ornitología Neotropical 31:42-46.
Goodale E, Sridhar H, Sieving K, Bangal P, Colorado G, Farine D, Heymann E, Jones H, Krams I, Martínez A, Montaño-Centellas F, Muñoz J, Srinivasan U, Theo A, Shanker K. 2020. Mixed company: A framework for understanding the composition and organization of mixed-species animal groups. Biological reviews 95(4) 889-910.
A.L. Hargreaves, Suárez E., Mehltreter K., Myers-Smith I., Vanderplank S., Slinn H., Vargas-Rodriguez Y., Haeussler S., David S., Muñoz J., Almazán-Núñez C, Loughnan D., Benning J., Moeller D, Brodie J., Thomas H., Morales P.A. 2019. Seed predation increases from the Arctic to the Equator and from high to low elevations. Science advances 5(2).
Google scholar: Jenny Muñoz
Research code:
Github: https://github.com/jenmunoz
Conservations tools: birdsconservationtool and Pacific Birds Conservation Tool.v1
UBC News, May 19, 2026: Across the stage, thousands of journeys converge at UBC