For my Master’s research at Cornell University, I conducted a mark-recapture study on a population of wild house finches in Ithaca, NY.  In 1994, wild house finches with severe conjunctivitis (swollen, crusty eyes) were first observed in Washington DC.  The bacteria, Mycoplasma gallisepticum spread rapidly throughout the eastern US.  My specific research concentrated on the survival rates of diseased and non-diseased finches and the transition rates from a diseased state to a non-diseased state (and vice versa).  The research involved designing field studies, using appropriate sampling methods, mist-netting and radio tracking.  Intensive statistical analysis was performed on the data using a mark-recapture statistical software to determine survival and transition rates.  The results of my research was published in the Journal of Animal Ecology and presented at the Department of Natural Resources seminar in front of graduate students, undergraduates and faculty.