We are recruiting two undergraduate interns for summer 2008 for two Hawaiian
bird evolution and conservation projects at the National Museum of Natural
History and the National Zoological Park. We would greatly appreciate your
help in posting the attached advertisement on your departmental bulletin
boards (electronic or traditional), and also by bringing this to the
attention of any promising students you think would be interested in an
opportunity to be trained and participate in paleontological, systematic and
molecular genetic studies on Hawaiian birds at
the Smithsonian Institution. Open to international students.
Thanks very much,
Rob Fleischer and Helen James
Robert C. Fleischer, Ph.D.
Head, Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics
National Zoological Park & National Museum of Natural History
Science Building
National Zoological Park
Smithsonian Institution
PO BOX 37012 MRC 5503
Washington, DC 20013-7012
For Genetics Laboratory use MRC 5513
phone:1-202-633-4190
fax: 1-202-673-0040
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Summer Internships - Hawaiian Birds Smithsonian Institution
Two summer undergraduate internships are
available at the Smithsonian Institution for
research on NSF-sponsored projects in Hawaiian
bird evolutionary and conservation biology. We
welcome applications for two projects (see
project abstracts below). Both involve museum
(osteology, paleontology) and molecular genetic
methods, and interns will be located for part of
the summer in the Bird Division of the National
Museum of Natural History and the other part in
the Genetics Program at the National Zoological
Park. Interns will receive a stipend, at least
partial coverage of costs for travel to
Washington DC (round-trip airfare), training in
both museum and lab methods, and a range of
educational opportunities traditionally provided
to summer interns by the Smithsonian. Intern
applicants should be current or recent
undergraduates with interests and some coursework
in evolutionary and conservation biology. Please
send a resume, brief statement of research
interests (including project preference), and
names and contact details for at least two
references, to Rob Fleischer
(<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED]) and
Helen James (<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED]) by 25 April 2008.
Molecular and Morphological Phylogenetics of
Hawaiian Songbird Radiations: Adaptive radiation
is the evolution of many species with differing
phenotypes from a single ancestral species. This
study will determine the evolutionary
relationships of four lineages of Hawaiian
songbirds, including the famous adaptive
radiation of Hawaiian honeycreepers. Because the
Hawaiian avifauna has suffered a major,
human-caused extinction, this research relies on
ancient DNA analysis of museum specimens and
fossil bones of extinct birds. The study will
estimate rates of DNA sequence evolution, and
identify patterns and causes of species
divergence among the islands of the Hawaiian
archipelago. Traditional morphological analyses
will also be performed, allowing insights into
the rates and patterns of morphological change
during adaptive radiation. Adaptive radiations
are an important component of evolutionary
biology and the Hawaiian honeycreeper radiation
has been an omnipresent textbook example of this
process. The rates of DNA sequence evolution that
will be calculated by comparison of DNA
divergence with the ages of the Hawaiian Islands
will be of use to many studies of evolutionary
history for which rates of DNA sequence evolution are unknown.
The Population and Ecological History of an Endangered Seabird:
At least 59 species of native birds have become
extinct in the Hawaiian Islands since humans
arrived there some 1000-1300 years ago. Early
reports indicate that the endangered Hawaiian
Petrel once "darkened the skies", but later
declined in numbers until it was nearly extinct
by the early 20th century. This study will
address: 1) how large the Hawaiian Petrel
population was before human arrival, 2) if
Hawaiian Petrels on different islands are
genetically distinct subpopulations, 3) if the
diet and feeding location of Hawaiian Petrels
changed over time, and 4) how changes in the
population genetics or feeding ecology relate to
human activities. These topics can be unmasked by
analyzing DNA sequences, stable isotope values,
and radiocarbon dates from bones of petrels that
died during the past 3000 years - beginning
before and continuing after human arrival. The
study will also assess whether dramatic declines
in numbers of breeding seabirds affected Hawaiian
plant communities by reducing the flow of
nutrients from ocean to land in the islands. The
effects of humans on island and ocean ecology can
be understood through studies like this one. By
analyzing modern and ancient bird bones, Hawaii's
past is brought to life and offers a baseline for
ecological restoration and management. For
example, understanding marine nutrient flow could
prove important for forest and watershed
conservation, and reconstructing change in petrel
diets over time can enlighten fisheries management.
