CAREER: Beaks, Song, and Speciation in Darwin's Finches

职业：达尔文雀的喙、鸣声和物种形成厄瓜多尔加拉帕戈斯群岛的达尔文雀是适应性辐射的典型例子，在这种辐射中，一个单一的祖先物种已经分化成多个后代物种。这些鸟在喙的形状和功能上进化出了一系列令人印象深刻的专业化，这与它们所占据的不同的饮食环境相一致。这项研究建立在最近的发现之上，即喙的进化多样化导致了雀的声音交配信号的声学结构的偶然变化。这项研究的更大目标是了解适应性进化和交配信号分化如何促进物种多样性。这项研究是在每年的实地考察中进行的。在多个野外地点对鸟类进行密集采样，可以记录摄食生态、喙的形状和功能、发声行为和择偶模式之间的关系。雀咬性能测量使用便携式力传感器和高速视频将记录在歌曲生产和可能的权衡喙运动。歌曲回放实验将表征声音变化对歌曲功能和生殖隔离的影响。该计划还包括指导、专业培训和外展活动。将为本科非专业课程开发一个“实时”网站，以记录实地研究并促进学生和研究人员之间的互动；该研究将成为面向K-12学生和教师的国家科学案例研究教学中心的一部分；新的本科专业实验练习和研究生研讨会课程也将是这个项目的组成部分。

CAREER: Beaks, Song, and Speciation in Darwin's FinchesJeffrey Podos Darwin's finches of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, are a classic example of adaptive radiation, in which a single ancestral species has diversified into multiple descendant species. These birds have evolved an impressive array of specializations in beak form and function, in accordance with the diverse feeding niches they have come to occupy. The study builds on the recent discovery that the evolutionary diversification of beaks has led to incidental changes in the acoustic structure of finch vocal mating signals. The larger goal of the research is to understand how adaptive evolution and mating signal divergence contributes to species diversity.The research is conducted during annual field expeditions. Intensive sampling of birds at multiple field sites allows documentation of relationships between feeding ecology, beak form and function, vocal behavior, and patterns of mate selection. Finch bite performance is measured using portable force transducers and high-speed video will document beak movements during song production and possible tradeoffs. Song playback experiments will characterize the influence of acoustic variation on song function and reproductive isolation. The project also includes instruction, professional training, and outreach activities. A "real-time" web site will be developed for an undergraduate non-majors course to document field research and foster interactions between students and researchers; the study will be part of the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science for K-12 students and teachers; new laboratory exercises for undergraduate majors and a graduate seminar course will also be an integral part of this project.