COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Comparative and temporal biodiversity genomics of Ethiopian Highland montane forest passerine birds

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Humans have impacted Earth’s landscape, including large scale forest fragmentation. While researchers have documented ecosystem degradation or species loss due to human impacts, how populations of particular species have reacted to forest fragmentation has been less studied, particularly in regions without long term monitoring. With increasingly fragmented habitats and smaller population sizes, forest species are more susceptible to chance extreme natural events, and reduced within-species genetic variation decreases future adaptive potential. Using forest songbirds from the Ethiopian Highlands as a model system to study population changes through time, the researchers will measure current and past genetic variation and population demographics using contemporary samples as well as archival samples from ~100 years ago housed in natural history collections. Consequently, this project will provide insight about how the past century’s forest fragmentation has impacted population trends in forest-specialized species. The information and results generated by this project will be used to improve STEM education, including formal undergraduate and graduate training in genomics research as well as development of a new research-focused undergraduate genomics course at Texas Tech University. Museum specimens used in this research will be utilized to increase public scientific literacy and engagement, including digital and in-person outreach through the Brain Scoop YouTube video series and hands-on science discovery at the Grainger Science Hub at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, both using bird specimens from the 1920s-40s to show how museum specimens may be used for understanding changes in biodiversity through time.This research will determine how forest fragmentation has shaped temporal population genomic variation in Ethiopian montane forest passerine birds (Aves: Passeriformes) over the past 100 years. Using whole-genome sequence data from modern and historical sampling, the researchers will estimate demographic histories, genetic diversity within populations, genetic differentiation between populations, and relative rates of gene flow to test hypotheses about (1) spatiotemporal patterns and processes of diversification, (2) species-specific characteristics (e.g., dispersal ability) shaping diversification, and (3) patterns of population genomic diversity generation, maintenance, or erosion through the past century. The project’s final products will include open genomic resources for several species of Ethiopian forest birds, science communication of results via presentations, reports, and manuscripts for audiences in the US, Ethiopia, and globally, and student training in all aspects of the research including field studies, genomic sequence generation, bioinformatics, and dissemination.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.