Brian Weeks

Assistant Professor

Ecosystem Science and Management

Conservation + Restoration

[email protected]

Lab website

More information on Brian’s research can be found here

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About

Brian Weeks joined SEAS in 2019 as an assistant professor. He is an evolutionary ecologist who studies how bird species and bird communities have responded to environmental change. He is a museum-, field-, and lab-based biologist with interests ranging from the influence of macroevolutionary processes on the vulnerability of communities in the Solomon Islands to morphological changes over the past 40 years in North American birds. Brian got his PhD in 2017 at Columbia University, where he was also affiliated with the Department of Ornithology at the American Museum of Natural History.

Publications

Education

PhD in Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University

MA and M.Phil, Columbia University

Affiliated PhD student, American Museum of Natural History in the Department of Ornithology

BA, Brown University

In the News

A visual representation of the sampling of avian wing-bone morphology used in the study.

May 23, 2025

AI vision system reveals bird wings evolved for heat regulation, not just flight

Using Skelevision, a new computer vision system, researchers have confirmed that not only do animals in warmer climates have longer limbs, but that the same principle...

An owl outfitted with an archival GPS unit perched on someone's hand.

November 6, 2024

How animal tracking data can help preserve biodiversity

Contact: [email protected] While ecologists have more data than ever to help monitor and understand biodiversity, researchers are still working to understand declining...

Concept illustration of a panoramic view of the mountainous wilderness, with forests, meadows, and a river in the foreground; a cityscape including skyscrapers and modern buildings in the background; various animals like deer, foxes, elk, and birds visible around the landscape; a sunny day; in the style of realistic digital art. Image credit: Nicole Smith, made with Midjourney

August 21, 2024

Human-wildlife overlap expected to increase across more than half of land on Earth by 2070

Contact: [email protected] According to a new University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) led study, as the human population grows, it's...

A robin's nest holds a baby and two eggs.

November 27, 2023

How a Warming World Could Affect Bird Development

SEAS master’s student Isaac Smith, who focuses on avian conservation, spent two months at the U-M Biological Station conducting a nest-warming experiment that he hoped would offer additional clues about how birds respond to climate change.

May 8, 2023

Smallest shifting fastest: Bird species body size predicts rate of change in a warming world

Contact: [email protected] ANN ARBOR—Birds across the Americas are getting smaller and longer-winged as the world warms, and the smallest-bodied species are changing the...

November 1, 2022

Faculty Accolades

News and updates about SEAS faculty.

October 18, 2022

SEAS Assistant Professor Brian Weeks receives Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering

(Los Altos, CA)—The David and Lucile Packard Foundation announced today the 2022 class of Packard Fellows in Science and Engineering. This year’s class features 20...

April 19, 2022

Ecological Society of America announces 2022 award recipients

Contact: Heidi Swanson The Ecological Society of America is pleased to announce the winners of its 2022 awards, which recognize outstanding contributions to ecology in...

In the Media

12/02/2023

Brian Weeks

Wolverines are endangered. A University of Michigan professor explains why (MLive)

11/29/2023

Brian Weeks

'Canary in the coal mine': Bird populations showing the impact of climate change (Boise State Public Radio)

05/09/2023

Brian Weeks

Birds wing it in response to climate change (Cosmos)

05/08/2023

Brian Weeks