Evolution Following Establishment in a Novel Environment

种群对新栖息地的入侵会引起种群内部的变化，这些变化可能是物种形成初始阶段的基础。 城市地区代表着新的栖息地。 雀形目鸟类黑眼Junco最近入侵了加州圣地亚哥的一个城市栖息地。 首先，城市容科斯与容科斯在其自然栖息地，针叶混交林，以确定是否和如何城市容科斯在形态，羽毛，行为和遗传学的变化。 其次，由于城市人口是孤立的，每个junco可以独特的颜色带和监测全年，以确定个人的生殖和生存命运。 这使得彻底的研究能够确定哪些个体具有更高的存活率和繁殖率，哪些性状对差异率负责，以及某些性状的变化如何影响其他性状。这项研究将揭示物种形成的初始阶段，这是生物学的核心问题，但目前还没有很好地理解。 该研究还将提供具有实际意义的知识-增加我们对城市化如何影响物种以及城市化导致物种变化的原因，方式和速度的理解。 这项工作还有一个重要的教育组成部分：每年大约有15名本科生和研究生参与研究的各个方面。

The invasion of novel habitats by populations can cause changes within the populations, and these changes can be the basis for the initial stages of speciation. Urban areas represent novel habitats. The Dark-eyed Junco, a passerine bird, recently invaded an urban habitat in San Diego, California. First, urban juncos are compared with juncos in their natural habitat, coniferous-mixed forest, to determine if and how urban juncos have changed in morphology, plumage, behavior, and genetics. Second, because the urban population is isolated, each junco can be uniquely color-banded and monitored throughout the year to determine individual reproductive and survival fates. This enables a thorough study to determine which individuals have higher survival and reproductive rates, which traits are responsible for the differential rates, and how changes in certain traits affect other traits. This research will shed light on the initial stages of speciation, a question central to biology but currently not well understood. The research will also provide knowledge of practical importance - increasing our understanding of how urbanization affects species, and why, how, and at what rate species change as a result of urbanization. There is also an important educational component to this work: each year approximately fifteen undergraduate and graduate students are involved in all aspects of the research.