Symposium number: 29

Title: CAUSES OF GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION IN AVIAN LIFE-HISTORIES

Principal organizer: Wesley Hochachka
Laboratory of Ornithology, Cornell University, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850, U.S.A.
email: wmh6@cornell.edu

Second organizer: Francisco Pulido
Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte, Schlossallee 2, D-78315 Radolfzell, Germany

First keynote speaker: Caren Cooper
Laboratory of Ornithology, Cornell University, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850, U.S.A.
Title of first keynote paper: Thermal environment and physiological constraints on incubation as influences on geographic variation in clutch size

Second keynote speaker: Timothy Coppack
Vogelwarte Helgoland, Institut für Vogelforschung, Inselstation, D-27494 Helgoland, Germany
Title of second keynote paper: Using indoor experiments to determine the photoperiodic basis for variation in the timing of breeding, moult and migration

Contributed talks

Symposium description: Geographic variation in the life histories of birds has long been a topic of research in ornithology. Concern for the abilities of birds to adapt to rapid environmental change has now added urgency to this research, as variation in life histories along broad environmental gradients is a potential predictor of responses to changes in environments at specific locations. Nevertheless, the degree to which geographic gradients are a consequence of phenotypic plasticity or local genetic adaptation is not yet clear. Phenotypic plasticity, where it exists, may explain all geographic variation; or it may reinforce local genetic adaptation (co-gradient selection) or even run counter to local genetic adaptation (counter-gradient selection).
This symposium has two objectives. First, it will identify patterns and potential causes of geographic variation in avian life-history traits. Second, it will evaluate different methods for studying the links between genes and phenotype, identifying constraints on adaptation to specific environments. By integrating knowledge from different fields within ornithology, we hope to make general predictions about the range of life-history traits for which simple linkage between genotype and phenotypic expression cannot be assumed.

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