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What we study: 

This project is an extension of long-term research led by Dr. Leonardo Campagna that aims to understand the evolutionary mechanisms that underlie the capuchino seedeater radiation in South America. The capuchino seedeaters are phenotypically diverse group of birds characterized by extremely low levels of genomic differentiation but strongly differentiated genomic regions near and within coloration genes (Campagna et al. 2012, 2018). While it is likely that selection at plumage genes is an engine of capuchino diversification, little is known about what factors keep distinct species apart in areas where multiple species coexist.

We combine whole-genome sequencing and detailed behavioral analyses to evaluate the importance of pre-mating isolation in the maintenance of species boundaries between S. iberaensis and S. hypoxantha and uncover the genetic basis of the traits that drive it. 

Ongoing projects include:
Tracking patterns of social and extra-pair mating between the species.
Identifying the phenotypic traits that underlie species recognition.
Studying the genomic basis of the phenotypic traits that differentiate the species.
Analyzing the contribution of variation in recombination rate to heterogeneous patterns of genomic differentiation in capuchino seedeaters. 

Turbek SP, Brown M, Di Giacomo AS, Kopuchian C, Hochachka WM, Estalles C, Lijtmaer DA, Tubaro PL, Silveira LF, Lovette IJ, Safran RJ, Taylor SA, Campagna L. Rapid speciation via the evolution of pre-mating isolation in the Iberá Seedeater. Science. 371, Issue 6536, eabc0256. DOI: 10.1126/science.abc0256

Above: Sporophilahypoxantha attacking decoy used for mate choice

experiments