Biography
Education
University of California Los Angeles, Ph.D.
Research Specialties
Most of my research concerns the functional morphology of birds and mammals and its relationship to ecological segregation among species. I am also interested in macroevolutionary questions such as how morphological and functional diversity compares among recent and fossil communities (e.g., vultures, raptors, antelopes).
Ongoing Research Projects
- Ecomorphological diversity of feeding, flying, and killing behavior among recent and fossil birds of prey
- Ecomorphological foraging strategies among pelagic seabirds and among South American songbirds
- Form and function of the hindlimb of birds - the antitrochanter and automated balance system
- Ecomorphology of recent and fossil African antelopes as related to habitat preferences
Representative Publications
van Oordt, F., J. Torres-Mura, and F. Hertel (2018). Ecomorphology of Pacific boobies. Ibis 160: 313-326.
Sustaita, D., A. Rico-Guevera, and F. Hertel (2018). Foraging Behavior. In: Ornithology: Foundation, Analysis, and Application (Morrison, M. L., A. D. Rodewald, G. Voelker, M. R. Colon, and J. F. Prather, eds.). Johns Hopkins University Press.
Sausner, J., J-C. Torres-Mura, J. Robertson, and F. Hertel (2016). Ecomorphological differences in foraging and pattering behavior among storm-petrels in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Auk 133: 397– 414.
Hertel, F., J. E. Maldonado, and D. Sustaita (2015). Wing and hindlimb myology of vultures and raptors (Accipitriformes) in relation to locomotion and foraging. Acta Zoologica 96: 283-295.
Louys, J., S. Montanari, T. Plummer, F. Hertel, & L. C. Bishop (2012). Evolutionary Divergence and Convergence in Shape and Size within African Antelope Proximal Phalanges. Journal of Mammalian Evolution 20(3): 239–248.
Sustaita, D. and Hertel, F. (2010). In-vivo bite and grip forces, morphology, and prey-killing behavior of North American accipiters (Accipitridae) and falcons (Falconidae). Journal of Experimental Biology 213: 2617-2628.
Plummer, T., Bishop, L. and F. Hertel (2008). Habitat preference of extant African bovids based on astragalus morphology: operationalizing ecomorphology for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. Journal of Archaeological Science 35: 3016-3027.
Hertel, F. and K. E. Campbell (2007). The antitrochanter of birds: form and function in balance. Auk 124(3): 789-805.
Roy, M. S., J. C. Torres-Mura, and F. Hertel (1998). Evolution and history of hummingbirds (Aves: Trochilidae) from the Juan Fernandez Islands, Chile. Ibis 140(2): 265-273.
Hertel, F. (1995). Ecomorphological indicators of feeding behavior in Recent and fossil raptors. Auk 112(4): 890-903.
Hertel, F. (1994). Diversity in body size and feeding morphology within past and present vulture assemblages. Ecology 75(4): 1074-1084.
Teaching
Avian Ecology (Biol 414)
Mammalogy (Biol 415)
Marine Tetrapods (Biol 433)
Tropical Vertebrates (Biol 446)
Comparative Anatomy (Biol 432)
Graduate Students
Current:
Matteo Mlinarevic – Ecomorphology and genetics of the Common Diuca Finch
Rennie MacIntosh - Effects of avian scavenging competition on the behavior of Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura)
Former:
Elliott Bloom – Ecomorphology of Penguins in the genus Spheniscus
Jeffrey Esparza - Niche segregation of armadillos in the southern Pantanal
Jake Holmes - Geomorphometric analysis of skeletal wing structures in Old and New World vultures
Josh Sausner - Ecomorphology of storm-petrels from the Pacific coast of the Americas
Francis van Oordt – Ecomorphology and foraging behavior of Pacific boobies
Allan Harell – Ecomorphology of cormorants from Mediterranean climates
Jessica Dooley - Bald Eagle space use and diets on the CA Channel Islands determined by GPS and stable isotopes
Michael Brewer - Wing shape and flight behavior in pelecaniform seabirds
Diego Sustaita (CSU San Marcos, Dept. Biology) - Musculoskeletal underpinnings to differences in killing behavior between North American accipiters and falcons