Bird Genoscape Project
The Center for Tropical Research recently launched the Bird Genoscape Project, an effort to map the population-specific migratory routes of 100 species of migratory songbirds by harnessing the power of genomics.
Center for Tropical Research
Mapping the Migratory Bird Flyways of the Americas
Bird Genoscape Project
Learn more about the Bird Genoscape Project here.
Neotropical migratory birds are declining across the Western Hemisphere, but conservation efforts have been stalled by the inability to assess where migrants are most limited – the breeding grounds, migratory stopover points, or tropical wintering areas. Historically, efforts to correlate breeding, wintering, and migratory populations have relied on large – scale banding programs or small tracking devices, however, these efforts have met with limited success because recapture of small – bodied birds is rare. Thus, there is an urgent need for a tracking technology that is minimally invasive, reliable, and capable of characterizing migratory patterns on a broad scale.
CTR has developed a a high-resolution molecular tag for tracking migratory birds on hemispheric scales. We are using this approach to create genetic maps, or “genoscapes” of 10 migratory bird species, and hope to expand to 100 species.
We are working with a variety of government and non-profit partners to expand the development of high-resolution molecular tags to species and populations of conservation concern across the Western Hemisphere. The resulting information can be used to help address current and future challenges facing migratory birds.
PROJECTS
Publications
Persistent impacts of West Nile virus on North American bird populations
George, T. L.; Harrigan, R. J.; LaManna, J. A.; DeSante, D. F.; Saracco, J. F.; Smith, T. B.
Published Work | 2015 | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112(46), 14290–14294
Convergent evolution of sunbird pollination systems of Impatiens species in tropical Africa and hummingbird systems of the New World
Janeček, S.; Bartoš, M.; Njabo, K. Y.
Published Work | 2015 | Biological Journal of the Linnaean Society 115(1), 127–133
Mapping migration in a songbird using high-resolution genetic markers
Ruegg, K. C.; Anderson, E. C.; Paxton, K. L.; Apkenas, V.; Lao, S.; Siegel, R. B.; DeSante, D. F.; Moore, F.; Smith, T. B.
Published Work | 2014 | Molecular Ecology 23(23), 5726–5739
Integrative tracking methods elucidate the evolutionary dynamics of a migratory divide
Alvarado, A. H.; Fuller, T. L.; Smith, T. B.
Published Work | 2014 | Ecology and Evolution 4(17), 3456–3469
A role for migration-linked genes in genomic islands in divergence of a songbird
Ruegg, K. C.; Anderson, E. C.; Boone, J.; Pouls, J.; Smith, T. B.
Published Work | 2014 | Molecular Ecology 23(19), 4757–4769
Novel statistical methods for integrating genetic and stable isotope data to infer individual-level migratory connectivity
Rundel, C. W.; Wunder, M. B.; Alvarado, A. H.; Ruegg, K. C.; Harrigan, R.; Schuh, A.; Kelly, J. F.; Siegal, R. B.; DeSante, D. F.; Smith, T. B.; Novembre, J.
Published Work | 2013 | Molecular Ecology 22(16), 4163–4176
Predicting bird song from space
Smith, T. B.; Harrigan, R. J.; Kirschel, A. N.; Buermann, W.; Saatchi, S.; Blumstein, D. T.; de Kort, S. R.; Slabbekoorn, H.
Published Work | 2013 | Evolutionary Applications 6(6), 865–874
Linking hydrogen (δ^2 H) isotopes in feathers and precipitation: Sources of variance and consequences for assignments to isoscapes
Hobson, K. A.; Van Wilgenburg, S. L.; Wassenaar, L. I.; Larson, K.
Published Work | 2012 | PLoS ONE 7(4)
Feather growth rate and mass in nearctic passerines with variable migratory behavior and molt pattern
Hera, I. D.; DeSante, D. F.; Milá, B.
Published Work | 2012 | The Auk 129(2), 222–230
Genetic variation and seasonal migratory connectivity in Wilson’s warblers (Wilsonia pusilla): species-level differences in nuclear DNA between western and eastern populations
Irwin, D. E.; Irwin, J. H.; Smith, T. B.
Published Work | 2011 | Molecular Ecology 20(15), 3102–3115
A cryptic contact zone between divergent mitochondrial DNA lineages in southwestern North America supports past introgressive hybridization in the yellow-rumped warbler complex (Aves: Dendroica coronata)
Milá, B.; Toews, D. P.; Smith, T. B.; Wayne, R. K.
Published Work | 2011 | Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 103(3), 696–706
Projected changes in elevational distribution and flight performance of montane neotropical hummingbirds in response to climate change
Buermann, W.; Chaves, J. A.; Dudley, R.; Mcguire, J. A.; Smith, T. B.; Altshuler, D. L.
Published Work | 2010 | Global Change Biology 17(4), 1671–1680
The prevalence of avian Plasmodium is higher in undisturbed tropical forests of Cameroon
Bonneaud, C.; Sepil, I.; Milá, B.; Buermann, W.; Pollinger, J.; Sehgal, R. N.; Valkiūnas, G.; Iezhova, T. A.; Saatchi, S.; Smith, T. B.
Published Work | 2009 | Journal of Tropical Ecology 25, 439–447
Ecomorphology of migratory and sedentary populations of the yellow-rumped warbler (Dendroica coronata)
Milá, B.; Wayne, R. K.; Smith, T. B.
Published Work | 2008 | Condor 110(2), 335–344
Recent postglacial range expansion drives the rapid diversification of a songbird lineage in the genus Junco
Milá, B.; McCormack, J. E.; Castenada, G.; Wayne, R. K.; Smith, T. B.
Published Work | 2007 | Proceedings of the Royal Society B 274(1626), 2653–2660
Postglacial population expansion drives the evolution of long-distance migration in a songbird
Milá, B.; Smith, T. B.; Wayne, R. K.
Published Work | 2006 | Evolution 60(11), 2403–2409
Speciation and rapid phenotypic differentiation in the yellow-rumped warbler (Dendroica coronata) complex
Milá, B.; Smith, T. B.; Wayne, R. K.
Published Work | 2006 | Molecular Ecology 16(1), 159–173
Divergence in mating signals correlates with ecological variation in the migratory songbird, Swainson’s thrush (Catharus ustulatus)
Ruegg, K.; Slabbekorn, H.; Clegg, S.; Smith, T. B.
Published Work | 2006 | Molecular Ecology 15(11), 1487–1494
Combining isotopic and genetic markers to identify breeding origins of migrant birds
Kelly, J.; Ruegg, K.; Smith, T. B.
Published Work | 2005 | Ecological Applications 15(5), 1487–1494
Molecular genetic approaches to linking breeding and overwintering areas in five neotropical migrant passerines
Smith, T. B.; Clegg, S. M.; Kimura, M.; Ruegg, K.; Milá, B.; Lovette, I.
Published Work | 2005 | Birds of Two Worlds: The Ecology and Evolution of Migration 223-231
Limited utility of mtDNA markers for determining connectivity among breeding and overwintering locations in three neotropical migrant birds
Lovette, I. J.; Clegg, S. M.; Smith, T. B.
Published Work | 2004 | Conservation Biology 18(1), 156–166
Stable isotopes as indicators of altitudinal distributions and movements in an Ecuadorean hummingbird community
Hobson, K. A.; Wassenaar, L. I.; Milá, B.; Lovette, I.; Dingle, C.; Smith, T. B.
Published Work | 2003 | Oecologia 136, 302–308
Combining genetic markers and stable isotopes to reveal population connectivity and migration patterns in a Neotropical migrant, Wilson’s warbler (Wilsonia pusilla)
Clegg, S. M.; Kelley, J. F.; Kimura, M.; Smith, T. B.
Published Work | 2003 | Molecular Ecology 12(4), 819–830
A call for feather sampling
Smith, T. B.; Marra, P. P.; Webster, M. S.; Lovette, I.; Gibbs, L.; Holmes, R. T.; Rohwer, S.
Published Work | 2003 | The Auk 120(1), 218–221
Phylogeographic approaches to assessing demographic connectivity between breeding and overwintering regions in a Nearctic-Neotropical warbler (Wilsonia pusilla)
Kimura, M.; Clegg, S. M.; Lovette, I. J.; Holder, K. R.; Girman, D. J.; Milá, B.; Wade, P.; Smith, T. B.
Published Work | 2002 | Molecular Ecology 11(9), 1605–1616
Not as the crow flies: a historical explanation for circuitous migration in Swainson’s thrush (Catharus ustulatus)
Ruegg, K.; Smith, T. B.
Published Work | 2002 | Proceedings of the Royal Society, London 269(1498), 1375–1381
Genetic evidence for the effect of a postglacial population expansion on the phylogeography of a North American songbird
Milá, B.; Girman, D.; Kimura, M.; Smith, T. B.
Published Work | 2000 | Proceedings of the Royal Society 267, 1033–1040