John McCormack

Dr. McCormack is the Director and Curator of the Moore Laboratory of Zoology's bird and mammal collection, the largest collection of Mexican birds in the world. His lab has developed methods for extracting DNA from historical museum specimens, allowing for studies of genomic change through time as a result of human-caused habitat change. Currently, the lab's research is focused the Free-flying Los Angeles Parrot Project (FLAPP), which combines genetics, environmental data, and citizen science to understand how parrots arrived to Los Angeles and how they are getting by now that they're here.

Recent Publications

Edwards et al. 2025. Multispecies pangenomes reveal a pervasive influence of population size on structural variation. Science 390: eadw1931 [Link to article]

Ramirez et al. 2025. Relocated, range-limited, but resilient: niche shift and constraints on spread in introduced Nanday parakeets (Aratinga nenday). Urban Ecosystems 28: 216 [Link to article]

Turbek et al. 2025. Genetic analysis of museum samples suggests temporal stability in the Mexican nonbreeding distribution of a neotropical migrant. Journal of Avian Biology 2025: e03369 [Link to article]

Ramirez et al. 2024. Convergent niche shifts of endangered parrots (genus Amazona) during successful establishment in urban southern California. Diversity and Distributions 30: e13817 [Link to article]

McCormack et al. 2023. An elevational shift facilitated the Mesoamerican diversification of Azure‐hooded Jays (Cyanolyca cucullata) during the Great American Biotic Interchange. Ecology and Evolution 13: e10411 [Link to article]

Teaching

• Bio 280: Evolutionary Biology
  • Each Fall semester (required for Bio majors and great for non-majors)
• Bio 360: Avian Biology
  • Every other Spring
• Bio 326: Molecular Phylogenetics
  • Occasionally in Spring
• Bio 310: Museum Science
  • 2-unit class taught occasionally
• Bio 193/293/393: Directed Research
  • Reach out by e-mail to inquire about for-credit research opportunities