Details of Award
NERC Reference : NER/A/S/2003/00389
A molecular approach to the evolutionary dynamics of melanism in birds.
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Dr N Mundy, University of Cambridge, Zoology
- Grant held at:
- University of Cambridge, Zoology
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Marine
- Freshwater
- Overall Classification:
- Terrestrial
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Science Topics:
- Population Genetics/Evolution
- Population Ecology
- Abstract:
- The project will use melanism in birds as a model system to investigate the genetics of adaptation. Melanism involves an increase in dark melanin pigment in the plumage, and commonly occurs as a polymorphic character in birds, i.e. melanic and non-melanic individuals co-exist in the same population. There are also many cases where closely related species differ in the amounts of dark melanin. The recent discovery that a single gene, the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) gene, underlies melanic polymorphisms in three unrelated birds (a goose, a skua and a passerine) will be used to answer some fundamental questions about adaptation and phenotypic evolution. By sequencing the MC1R gene from other species of birds with melanic polymorphisms (e.g. birds of prey and herons) and completely black species (e.g. swans and thrushes) we will be able to tell whether the MC1R gene is responsible for all cases of melanism in birds, and whether dark plumage evolution through species formation has the same cause as in melanic polymorphisms. Other aspects of the project involve seeking genetic evidence for an adaptive benefit of melanism, and looking in detail at the role of the MC1R in other types of plumage evolution, such as a switch between red and black plumage. The results will be of broad interest to ecologists and evolutionary biologists, will be readily comprehensible by the broader community, and have the potential to become a classic example of the genetic basis of evolution.
- NERC Reference:
- NER/A/S/2003/00389
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Standard Grants Pre FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Standard Grant
This grant award has a total value of £161,053
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - T&S | Total - Staff | Total - Other Costs | Total - Equipment | Total - Indirect Costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £3,342 | £83,395 | £31,333 | £4,622 | £38,362 |
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