Speaker
Description
Since Darwin’s time insights from the fields of behavior, ecology and genetics have illuminated the process of speciation. In this talk I will highlight our recent discoveries of evolution in Darwin’s finch populations in the Galápagos archipelago. Field studies of the behavior of individuals and the ecology of populations reveal how the species are reproductively and ecologically isolated. Molecular genetics has added a new dimension to this understanding by providing genomic detail of evolution in contemporary as well as historical populations. By integrating these disciplines we have revealed three processes of speciation, provided reasons for changes in evolutionary trajectories and identified the important causal factors. I will conclude with our exciting discovery of the formation of a new lineage and a discussion of the relevance of these findings to other studies.
