The Daily Bulletin

Please join the Biology Department and the Great Lakes Center for the seminar “Genomic and Ecological Divergence in Wood Warblers,” presented by Marcella Baiz, assistant professor of biological sciences at the University at Buffalo, today, March 11, at 3:00 p.m. in Science and Mathematics Complex 151. Attendees are welcome to enjoy coffee and cookies during the seminar.

Abstract
Dr. Baiz will share her research on genetic and ecological differentiation among North American wood warblers (family Parulidae). Wood warblers are a classic model of dietary niche partitioning, but unlike other model avian radiations, including Darwin’s finches, dietary divergence among warblers is not closely tied to the history of species divergence. Dr. Baiz will talk about her research on patterns of molecular evolution of two plumage color genes: the Agouti signaling protein (ASIP), and Beta-carotene oxygenase 2 (BCO2), which suggest repeated recruitment of these two genes in driving plumage color differences. She will also talk about her work on the relationship between diet diversity and gut microbiome diversity, and the consequences of host divergence on gut microbiome assembly.