Education.

NSF Postdoctoral Fellow
Brown University
Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology
July 2023 - July 2026

Postdoctoral Research Associate
Brown University
Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology
January 2023 - July 2023

University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Ph.D. Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior
August 2018 - December 2022
​
Augustana University
B.A. Biology (Emphasis in Ecology and Environmental Sciences) with Honors
B.A. Secondary Education with Honors
August 2013 - May 2017

Funding.
(total amount: $291,262)

Fellowships.
NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology ($240,000) - 2023
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Honorable Mention - 2019
Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need Fellowship (GAANN) ($26,100) - 2018
South Dakota EPSCoR Undergraduate Research Fellow ($4,500) - 2016
Sanford Program for Undergraduate Research REU Fellow ($5,000) - 2015

Awards.
Harley J. Van Cleave Award ($1000) - 2021
University of Illinois Image of Research Competition 1st Place ($500) - 2021
EEB Summer Research Stipend ($2500) - 2020
Heiligenstein Award for Excellence in Teaching ($1500) - 2020
University of Illinois Dissertation Travel Grant ($4662) - 2020
Animal Behavior Society Student Research Grant ($1500) - 2019
Clark Research Grant ($1000) 2x - 2019, 2020
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Honorable Mention. - 2019
American Ornithological Society Student Membership Award - 2019
South Dakota Ornithological Union Mary E. Baylor Memorial Award ($1000) - 2016
Augustana University Dilwyn J. Rogers Ecology Award ($1000) - 2016

Recent Presentations.

Motor planning by woodpeckers compensates for constraints caused by signal coarticulation during drumming. N.D. Antonson, C. Troy, M.J. Fuxjager. 2025. Contributed Talk - Animal Behavior Society Meeting 2025, Baltimore Maryland, July 2025.

Muscle twitch kinetics set differential performance limits for elements of a multicomponent display. N.D. Antonson, J.G. Capano, M.J. Fuxjager. 2024. Contributed Talk - Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Meeting 2024, Seattle, Washington, January 2024.

Niche construction through a Goldilocks principle maximizes fitness for a nest-sharing brood parasite. N.D. Antonson, W.M. Schelsky, D. Tolman, R.M. Kilner, M.E. Hauber. 2022. Contributed Talk – International Society of Behavioral Ecology Meeting 2022, Stockholm, Sweden, August 2022.

Niche construction of host broods by nest-sharing avian brood parasites. N.D. Antonson. 2022. Warder Clyde Allee Session for Best Student Paper Competition – Animal Behavior Society Meeting 2022, San Jose, Costa Rica, July 2022.

Brood parasitic strategies for survival in variable environments and their impacts on hosts. 2020. N.D. Antonson. Invited Talk - Annual Meeting of the South Dakota Ornithological Union, September 2021. (Postponed to 2022)

Brood engineering through a Goldilocks principle maximizes fitness for a nest-sharing brood parasite. N.D. Antonson, W.M. Schelsky, D. Tolman, R.M. Kilner, M.E. Hauber. 2021. Contributed Talk – AOS & SCO-SOC Meeting 2021 (Virtual), American Ornithological Society, August 2021.

Survival of Brood Parasitic Young Is Contingent on Host Siblings: Support for Goldilocks Hypothesis of Nestmate Tolerance. N.D. Antonson, W.M. Schelsky, D. Tolman, R.M. Kilner, M.E. Hauber. 2021. Contributed Talk – Virtual Asilomar Meeting, American Society of Naturalists, January 2021.

Brood parasitic strategies for survival in variable environments and their impacts on hosts. 2020. N.D. Antonson. Departmental Seminar Series – Augustana University, Sioux Falls, SD (Virtual), November 2020.

Environmental uncertainty contributes to the evolution of host specialization in avian brood parasites. N.D. Antonson, D.R. Rubenstein, M.E. Hauber, and C.A. Botero. 2019. Contributed Talk –Joint Meeting of The Animal Behavior Society and International Congress of Ethologists, University of Illinois at Chicago, July 2019.

The effect of avian brood parasitism on host parental stress and immune response. N.D. Antonson, M.E. Hauber, B.C. Mommer, J.P. Hoover, and W.M. Schelsky. 2019. Contributed Poster – Animal Behavior Conference, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, March 2019.

Unnatural Selection: How humanity’s use of CRISPR will impact its own evolution. N.D. Antonson. Guest Lecturer – Undergraduate Theology, Medicine, and Ethics course at Augustana University, Sioux Falls, SD, March 2017.

Fatal Attractions: Determining the mode of attraction for the carnivorous plant Nepenthes ventricosa using multiple sensory gene knockout fruit fly populations. N.D. Antonson, J.A. Alvarez, K.J. Kettler, C.M. Miles, & S.L. Matzner. Contributed Poster – 2016 Ecological Society of America, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, August 2016.

Teaching and Professional Experiences.

Teaching Assistant – University of Illinois Urbana Champaign                                     2018-2022
    Courses Taught: Fall 2018 – Ecology,
    Spring 2019 – Biology of Dinosaurs,
    Fall 2019 – Ecology*
    Spring 2020 – Merit Physiology*,
    Fall 2021 – Merit Intro Biology*
    Spring 2022 – Biology In Today’s World*,
    Fall 2022 – Merit Intro Biology *    
    *Denotes semester as Teacher Ranked Excellent By Their Students
Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology – Developing Neural Circuits Workshop Participant - 2021
Institute of Genomic Biology, University of Illinois - Analyzing RNAseq Data Workshop
Participant - 2019
Chemistry Teacher – Lincoln High School, Sioux Falls, SD - 2017-2018
Teacher Education Committee Secondary Ed. Student Representative - 2015-2016
Member of Dean’s Scholarship Interview Committee Augustana University - 2015 & 2016
Teaching Assistant, Augustana University, Department of Biology - 2015-2017
     Biological Principles I, Ornithology, Principles of Ecology       
High School Science Tutor at Sanford Children’s Hospital - 2014-2015

Service.

Outreach & Departmental Service
-American Ornithological Society Affinity Group Representative - 2025
-Developed Lesson Plan for Middle School Outreach on Muscle Physiology and Behavior - 2023-2025
-Organized and Hosted Elizabeth Rudzki’s Seminar on Equity and Safety in Field Research - 2024
Field Safety Workshop and Discussion Circle Organizer at Brown University - 2024
Organized REU Poster Workshop Organizer at Brown University - 2024
-Panel Expert - School of Integrative Biology Movie Night: Life of Birds - 2020
-Allerton Bird Banding Event - 2018
-Ornithology Activity Coordinator at Girl Scout Dream BIG Event - 2017
-Washington Pavilion Regional Science Fair Judge - 2016-2017
-Epigenetics Activity for High School Students - 2016
-Augustana Pathways Program for Native American Middle School Students - 2015 & 2016                                                               
Undergraduate Student Mentoring                                         * coauthorship on forthcoming publication
-Ray Mandel-Mueller* - 2024-2025
Brown University Undergraduate Research Student
-Stephen Ogunbiyi* - 2023-2025
Brown University Undergraduate Research Student
-Margot Champigneulle* - 2023-2025
Brown University Undergraduate Research Student
-Charles Stowers, student at Colorado State University - 2023
              REU: Biology of animal movement and performance
-Carly Kallembach*, student at University of Illinois - 2021
Undergraduate Field Technician,
Now pursuing Master’s of Public Health
-Angela Alburei*, student at University of Illinois - 2020
Undergraduate Field Technician
Now healthcare systems analyst
-Katharine Stenstrom, student at University of Illinois - 2019 & 2020
Undergraduate Field Technician
Now PhD student in Psychology, University of Alberta

Peer Review
-Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
​-Evolution
-Journal of Ornithology
-Behavioral Ecology
-Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
-Ethology
​-Journal of Field Ornithology
-Wilson Journal of Ornithology