Scott Taylor

  • Associate Professor
  • Director, Mountain Research Station
  • ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY

Evolutionary ecology • Population genomics

Hybridization, speciation, evolutionary ecology, and population genomics (primarily of birds); impacts of anthropogenic change on species distributions, interactions, and evolution.

My research applies genomics and field experiments to natural hybrid zones and closely related taxa in order to investigate the architecture of reproductive isolation—the hallmark of speciation—and the genetic bases of traits relevant to speciation. This research also provides insight into the impacts of anthropogenic change, including climate change, on species distributions, interactions, and evolution.

Check out the Taylor Lab for more about the work of my research group, including the Boulder Chickadee Study, and my teaching and publications. Graduate and undergraduate students can also find information about joining the lab. I am also the Director of the CU Boulder Mountain Research Station.

Taylor Lab News about Scott 

Education

  • PhD: Queen's University, 2011

Teaching

I teach a number of field-based and lecture format undergraduate courses. I incorporate creativity into my pedagogy when possible, and encourage my students to engage with the subject matter in unconventional ways. Â鶹ÒùÔº who take the course Ecology and Evolution in the Galápagos Islands keep field notes alongside watercolor depictions of their observations.

See Scott's courses on his lab website.

Current students

Outreach

RIO Faculty Fellow community talk: . YouTube video, October 2023.

The Storycollider story: . Storycollider podcast with transcript, May 2022.

TedX Boulder talk: . YouTube video, July 2019.

Publications