I am investigating evolutionary divergence through a multifaceted study employing phenotype, genotype, and biogeography. During the first year of this project, I took morphological measurements on 190 specimens and analyzed this dataset in R. I am currently working on the genomics aspect of the project, in which I am sequencing ultraconserved elements from DNA extracted from 18 muscle tissues and 19 toe pads to create a complete phylogeny of Green Jays across Mesoamerica. Both preliminary mtDNA data, as well as morphological results, suggest that Green Jays located in northeastern Mexico and Texas are deeply divergent from other populations in Mexico. Because this divergence is as deep as the divergence between Green Jays in North America and South America, it may suggest that this population in northeast Mexico/Texas should be distinguished as a separate species. Because my species distribution modeling indicates this northeastern population will extend its range further into the southern U.S. within the next 30 years, elevating this population to species level may prove to be important for conservation policies in both the U.S. and Mexico. This research has now become part of a wider collaboration with researchers at UT-Austin studying the Green Jay expansion from Mexico into Texas. I anticipate 1-2 publications from this research in the coming year.