Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/C518381/1
Genetics and ecology of phenotypic evolution: island-dwelling birds as a model system
Fellowship Award
- Fellow:
- Dr S Clegg, Imperial College London, Biology
- Grant held at:
- Imperial College London, Biology
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Terrestrial
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Science Topics:
- Pollution
- Conservation Ecology
- Community Ecology
- Behavioural Ecology
- Abstract:
- Knowledge of the processes that result in the formation of a new species is fundamental to understanding the diversity of form in the natural world. Species on islands provide a wonderful opportunity to study evolution in action. These simplified systems allow us to examine the role of genes and the environment in causing a form to diverge. One group of birds, called white-eyes, are very successful at colonizing islands. On islands in the southwest Pacific region, there are many forms of these birds and because there have often been multiple invasions of white-eye's, many islands have two different, but related forms. One important tenet of evolutionary ecology is that two forms cannot coexist if they are too similar in their ecological requirements. Therefore, competition for resources between related species may be important in causing the two forms to become increasingly divergent from each other. However, this is just one mechanism that may be responsible for the diversification of these birds. Other processes may also contribute to diversification such as the amount of time that an island form has had to evolve and natural selection favouring individuals and their offspring that do well in a particular environment or climates. Selection may operate in a gradual manner, slowly causing a population to diverge, or it could operate in a more episodic manner, with burst of strong selection causing rapid changes. To gain an understanding of the relative importance of these kinds of processes, I will examine the genetic, physical and ecological traits of pairs of white-eye species in New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji. I will use information from the genetic code (DNA) to find out how long each form has had to evolve and also whether birds from different islands, and indeed different species, interbreed with each other. I will catch birds and measure traits such as wing length and tarsus (or leg) length to examine how much overlap there is among closely related species in terms of their physical traits. This will also allow me to quantify the divergence of the same species across its different island populations. The ecology of each form will likewise be quantified in terms of the types of habitats they each use and how they forage in those habitats. If competition between the two species is important in causing divergence, then we expect to see a relationship between the degree of physical difference and the degree of ecological difference. Additionally, I will examine how the behavioural attribute of bird song could influence patterns of diversification. In birds, song is crucial in determining the formation of pairs. Therefore, differences in song type among populations can serve to decrease the rate at which matings from different populations occur, and therefore decrease the genetic similarity between populations.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/C518381/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Postdoctoral Fellow
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Postdoctoral Fellowship
This fellowship award has a total value of £140,946
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Staff | Total - T&S | Total - Other Costs |
|---|---|---|
| £105,895 | £6,550 | £28,500 |
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