Kevin Omland’s book “Understanding the Tree of Life” has been published by Cambridge University Press, Sept. 2025. It is available in softcover and ebook from major online booksellers, as well as smaller websites around the world.
https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Tree-Life/dp/100920730X
“This book challenges outdated hierarchical views of evolution and embraces new understanding of Earth’s biodiversity. It explains how to interpret evolutionary trees to explore evolutionary history, and the diversity of life on Earth, appealing to students, teachers, scientists, birders, naturalists, and anyone curious about biology and evolution.” Cambridge University Press.
The Omland Lab studies a range of topics in avian evolution, ecology, behavior and conservation. Much of our research for the last 25 years has focused on New World orioles (Icterus), including studies of their phylogeny, speciation, hybridization and coloration. Recent research has emphasized elaborate female coloration and female song.
From 2015-2020 we studied the endangered Bahama Oriole in close collaboration with the Bahamas National Trust, resulting in it being downlisted from “Critically Endangered” to “Endangered”. We were funded by a NSF International Research Experience for Undergraduates grant OISE-1827110. This grant helped fund both undergraduate and PhD research. Since 2022 we have been studying the Puerto Rican Oriole, another species of conservation concern.
Prospective students please email me about our work in Puerto Rico or about other projects that fit well with our recent or ongoing projects. omland@umbc.edu
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For older posts about our work in the Bahamas: Bahama Oriole Project