Dr. Jacob Cooper

Assistant Professor

Office: BHS 315   |    Phone: (308) 865-8912   |    Email: cooperj2@unk.edu

Dr. Jacob Cooper

Biography

Areas of Interest:

  • Ornithology
  • Biogeography
  • Ecology
  • Evolution

Degrees:

  • B.S. (2013) - Louisiana State University
  • M.A. (2016) - University of Kansas
  • M.S. (2019) - University of Chicago
  • Ph. D. (2021) - University of Chicago

Professional Affiliations:

  • American Ornithological Society
  • African Bird Club
  • West African Ornithological Society
  • Kansas Ornithological Society
  • Nebraska Ornithologists' Union
  • Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science

Dissertation and Thesis:

  • Cooper, J.C.  2021.  Biogeographic and ecologic drivers of avian diversity. Ph. D. Dissertation, University of Chicago.  357 pp. http://dx.doi.org/10.6082/uchicago.3379
  • Cooper, J.C.  2016.  Creating individual dispersal hypotheses improves stacked species distribution model performance.  M.A. thesis.  93 pp. http://hdl.handle.net/1808/21834

Publications:

  • Cobos, M.E., Nuñez-Penichet, C., Campbell, P.D., Cooper, J.C., Machado-Stredel, F., Barve, N., Ashraf, U., Alkishe, A.A., Ng’eno, E., Nair, R.R., Atauchi, P.J., Adeboje, A., and Peterson, A.T.  2023.  Effects of occurrence data density on conservation prioritization strategies.  Biological Conservation 284:110207.  doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2023.110207
  • Velde, M.F., Besozzi, E.M., Krochuk, B.A., Henderson, K.M., Tsuru, B.R., Velásquez Restrepo, S., Garrod, H.M., and Cooper, J.C.  2023.  What constitutes a community?  A co-occurrence exploration of the Costa Rican avifauna.  Neotropical Biodiversity 9(1):64-75.  doi: 10.1080/23766808.2023.2204549
  • Eliason, C., Cooper, J.C., Hackett, S.J., Zahnle, E., Pequeño Saco, T., Maddox, J.D., Hains, T., Hauber, M.E., and Bates, J.M.  2023.  Interspecific hybridization explains rapid gorget color divergence in Heliodoxa hummingbirds (Aves: Trochilidae).  Royal Society Open Science 10(3):221603.  doi: 10.1098/rsos.221603
  • Cooper, J.C.  2022.  Mountain Sawwing (Psalidoprocne fuliginosa), version 2.0.  In Birds of the World (Paul G. Rodewald, Ed.).  Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA.  doi: 10.2173/bow.mousaw1.02 (Encyclopedia article).
  • Cooper, J.C., Crouch, N.M.A., Ferguson, A.W., and Bates, J.M.  2022.  Climatic refugia and reduced extinction correlate with underdispersion in mammals and birds in Africa.  Ecology and Evolution 12(3):e8752.  doi: 10.1002/ece3.8752
  • Tobias, J.A. … Cooper, J.C. … and Schleuning, M.  2022.  AVONET: morphological, ecological, and geographical data for all birds.  Ecology Letters 25(3):581-597.  doi: 10.1111/ele.13898
  • Cooper, J.C.  2021.  Hierarchical analyses of community biogeography in the Afromontane highlands.  Frontiers in Biogeography 13.04:e51310.  doi: 10.21425/F5FBG51310
  • Cooper, J.C., Maddox, J.D., Kellie McKague & John M. Bates.  2021.  Multiple lines of evidence indicate ongoing allopatric and parapatric diversification in an Afromontane sunbird (Cinnyris reichenowi).  Ornithology (formerly The Auk) 138:ukaa081.  doi:10.1093/ornithology/ukaa081 PDF HERE Free Access
  • Allen, K.E., Tapondjou, W.P., Freeman, B., Cooper, J.C., Brown, R.M., and Peterson, A.T.  2021.  Modelling potential Pleistocene habitat corridors between Afromontane forest regions.  Biodiversity and Conservation 30:2361–2375.
  • Caparucho, J.M.G., Ashley, M., Tsuru, B.R., Cooper, J.C., and Bates, J.M.  2020.  Dispersal ability correlates with range size in Amazonian habitat restricted birds.  Proceedings of the Royal Society B 287(1939):20201450.  doi: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1450
  • Hruska, J.P., Cooper, J.C., and & Robbins, M.B.  2020.  First record of Mexican Whip-poor-will Antrostomus arizonae in Nicaragua.  Cotinga 42:56-57.
  • Owens, H.L., Ribiero, V., Saupe, E., Cobos, M.E., Hosner, P., Cooper, J.C., Samy, A., Barve, V., Barve, N., Muñoz C., and Peterson, A.T.  2020.  Acknowledging uncertainty in evolutionary reconstructions of ecological niches.  Ecology and Evolution 10(14):6967-6977.  doi: 10.1002/ece3.6359
  • Voight, J.R., Cooper, J.C., and Lee, R.  2020.  Stable isotopic evidence of misotrophy in xylophagids, deep-sea wood-boring bivalves.  Frontiers in Marine Science 7:50.  doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.00050
  • Cooper, J.C.  2018.  Niche theory and its relation to morphology and phenotype in geographic space: a case study in woodpeckers (Picidae).  Journal of Avian Biology e01771.  doi:10.1111/jav.01771
  • Da Silva, T., Fernando, S.W., Robbins, M.B., Cooper, J.C., Fokam, E.B., and Peterson, A.T.  2018.  Recognition of a new generic-level swallow taxon from Central Africa.  Journal of Avian Biology e01698.  doi:10.1111/jav.01698
  • Cooper, J.C., and Soberón, J.  2018.  Creating individual accessible area hypotheses improves stacked species distribution model performance.  Global Ecology & Biogeography 27:156-165.  doi:10.1111/geb.12678
  • Saupe, E.E., Barve, N., Owens, H.L., Cooper, J.C., Hosner, P., and Peterson, A.T.  2018.  Reconstructing ecological niche evolution when niches are incompletely characterized.  Systematic Biology 67:428-438.  doi:10.1093/sysbio/syx084
  • Ingenloff, K., Hensz, C., Anamza, T., Barve, V., Campbell, L.P., Cooper, J.C., Komp, E., Jimenez, L., Olson, K., Osorio-Olvera, L., Owens, H.L., Peterson, A.T., Samy, A., Simões, M., and Soberón, J.  2017.  Predictable invasion dynamics in American populations of the Eurasian Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto.  Proceedings of the Royal Society B 284:20171157.  doi:10.1098/rspb.2017.1157
  • Brzeski, K.E., Wolfe, J.D., Cooper, J.C., and Powell, L.L.  2016.  Camera sighting of Congo Clawless Otter in the midst of rapid development on mainland Equatorial Guinea.  IUCN Otter Spec. Group Bulletin 33(2).
  • Cooper, J.C., Johnson, O., Davis, T.J., Terrill, R.S., Wolfe, J.D., Brzeski, K.E., Etingüe, A.M., and Powell, L.L.  2017.  Notes on the distribution of the avifauna of Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea, including one new country record.  Malimbus 39(1):1-15.
  • Cooper, J.C., and Barragán Díaz, D.  2017.  Tawny-throated Leaftosser Sclerurus mexicanus, version 1.0.  In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA.  doi:10.2173/bow.tatlea1.01 (Encyclopedia article).
  • Cooper, J.C., and Cuervo, A.M.  2017.  Vocal variation and species limits in the Sclerurus mexicanus complex. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 129(1):13-24.
  • Cooper, J.C., Powell, L.L., and Wolfe, J.D.  2016.  Notes on the birds of Equatorial Guinea, including nine first country records.  Bulletin of the African Bird Club 23(2):152-163. *Correction published: eight first country records.
  • Simões, M.V.P., Breitkreutz, L.C.V., Alvarado G., M., Baca, S.M., Cooper, J.C., Heins, L.E., Herzog, K.S., and Lieberman, B.S.  2016.  The evolving theory of evolutionary radiations.  Trends in Ecology and Evolution 31(1):27-34.  doi:10.1016/j.tree.2015.10.007u

Articles:

  • Velde, M.F., Cooper, J.C., and Garrod, H.M.  2023.  Testing the accuracy of species distribution models based on community science data.  bioRxiv.  doi: 10.1101/2023.01.13.523331
  • Cooper, J.C. and Barragán Díaz, D.  2022.  Is niche divergence more likely in parapatry? A test in Sclerurus mexicanus sensu lato (Aves: Furnariidae).  bioRxiv.  doi: 10.1101/2022.12.06.519370
  • Cooper, J.C.  2020.  Depredation of Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) by a presumed American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) in an urban park.  Meadowlark 29.4:10-11.
  • Cooper, J.C.  2017.  Book review of Why Birds Matter edited by Çağan Hakkı Şekercioğlu, Daniel G. Wenny & Christopher J. Whelan.  Quarterly Review of Biology 92:464-465.  doi:10.1086/694954