DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Reconstructing Microevolution in Historically Documented Populations of the House Sparrow

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Dissertation research will investigate the evolutionary processes underlying patterns of variation in wild populations of the House Sparrow. The populations included in the present study afford four major points of interest: (i) most were only recently started by humans 100-150 years ago, (ii) they have since experienced complex historical processes involving effective size fluctuations, (iii) they are well-represented in museum collections, and (iv) large amounts of historical data document the actual introductions. Research will compare museum specimens between locales (controlling for time) and across time (controlling for locale) for a suite of genotypic and phenotypic characters in an effort to reconstruct historical demography and assess the opportunities for chance and selection to influence overall evolutionary dynamics. The study will synthesize ancient DNA techniques and new statistical methods designed for analyzing temporally spaced data. Results will help guide future evolutionary studies of species where the available genetic and demographic data are limited. The research will also provide insights into the potential adaptive responses of species to climate change. Laboratory methods will continue to involve students with interests in molecular biology by providing training in high-throughput genotyping and data analysis.