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

论文研究将调查家麻雀野生种群变异模式背后的进化过程。本研究包括的种群提供了四个主要的兴趣点：(I)大多数种群是在100-150年前才由人类开始的，(Ii)自那以后经历了复杂的历史过程，涉及有效的大小波动，(Iii)他们在博物馆藏品中有很好的代表性，以及(Iv)大量的历史数据记录了实际的介绍。研究人员将比较博物馆标本在不同地点(控制时间)和不同时间(控制地点)的一系列基因和表型特征，以努力重建历史人口学，并评估机会和选择影响整体进化动态。这项研究将综合古代DNA技术和新的统计方法，旨在分析时间间隔的数据。这些结果将有助于指导未来对可用遗传和人口数据有限的物种的进化研究。这项研究还将为物种对气候变化的潜在适应性反应提供见解。通过提供高通量基因分型和数据分析方面的培训，实验室方法将继续吸引对分子生物学感兴趣的学生。

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.