Chemical Communication in Songbirds
In collaboration with Helena Soini and Milos Novotny of IU's Institute for Pheromone Research, I am examining the information content of odors in preen oil using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and proteomic approaches. Volatile compounds contained in preen oil communicate information about species, sex, population, and individual identity (Whittaker et al 2010). We have also found that birds are able to differentiate among preen oil from different individuals and species on the basis of odor (Whittaker et al 2009). I am now examining the role of steroid hormones in mediating the production of these odors, testing whether information about individual quality (such as hormone levels and MHC genotype) is transmitted by this chemical cue, and testing whether birds use odors to evaluate potential mates. This work has been supported by grants from Indiana University, the Indiana Academy of Science, and the American Philosophical Society.
Publications
Whittaker, D. J., H. A. Soini, J. W. Atwell, C. Hollars, M. V. Novotny, and E. D. Ketterson. 2010. Songbird chemosignals: Preen oil volatile compounds vary among individuals, sexes, and populations. Behavioral Ecology 21:608-614. ( DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arq033)
Media coverage:
ScienceDaily: Could Smell Play a Role in the Origin of New Bird Species? March 24, 2010
LiveScience: Songbirds Hold Secrets of Attracting Mates, April 21, 2010
Whittaker, D. J., D. G.
Reichard, and E. D. Ketterson. 2009. Behavioral
responses of nesting females to hetero- and conspecific passerine
odors. Journal of Avian Biology
40: 579-583. (PDF)ScienceDaily: Could Smell Play a Role in the Origin of New Bird Species? March 24, 2010
LiveScience: Songbirds Hold Secrets of Attracting Mates, April 21, 2010
Presentations
Whittaker, D. J., H. A. Soini, J. W. Atwell, A. Miller, A. L. Posto, M. V. Novotny, and E. D. Ketterson. 2010. Songbird chemosignaling: differentiation and detection of volatile compounds by dark-eyed juncos. (Poster presented at Association for Chemoreception Sciences annual meeting, Tampa, FL, April 2010)
Whittaker, D. J., H. A. Soini, J. W. Atwell, M. V. Novotny, and E. D. Ketterson. 2009. Evidence for chemosignaling in songbirds. (Talk presented at American Ornithologists' Union annual meeting, Philadelphia, PA, August 2009)
Whittaker, D. J., D. Reichard, and E. Ketterson. 2008. Birds smell: behavioral responses of nesting females to avian scents. (Talk presented at Indiana Academy of Science annual meeting, Evansville, IN, October 2008
The Junco Transcriptome and Songbird Comparative Genomics
In collaboration with IU's Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics, we have sequenced the transcriptome of the dark-eyed junco. We are currently conducting a comparative genomics study of songbirds to better understand the process of speciation in this diverse order.
Whittaker, D. J. The junco transcriptome: a genomic approach to songbird evolution, ecology, and behavior. Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics Roundtable, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. 11 March 2010.
Doctoral
Research: Evolutionary Genetics of Kloss's Gibbons (Hylobates
klossii):
Systematics, Phylogeography, and Conservation
For this project, I investigated the genetic diversity of the Kloss's gibbon, endemic to the Mentawai Islands of Indonesia. These gibbons are a poorly studied species, and little is understood about their phylogenetic position within the gibbon radiation and patterns of genetic diversity within the species. The other endemic Mentawai primates (Macaca pagensis, Presbytis potenziani, and Simias concolor) have been suggested to be divided into two subspecies based on variation in coat color: one on Siberut in the northern end of the chain, and one subspecies on the three southern islands. The Kloss's gibbon shows no obvious variation, as all individuals are completely black. Furthermore, the primates of the Mentawai Islands are threatened by logging and hunting, and the conservation status of the Kloss's gibbon has not been evaluated since 1980. Based on mitochondrial D-loop sequences and their congruence with morphological and vocal characteristics as well as ND3-4 data, the Kloss's gibbon appears to be a recently derived member of the lar group of gibbons, clustering with the geographically close H. agilis and H. moloch, rather than a basal taxon as previous morphological studies have suggested. Based on the mitochondrial data, the Kloss's gibbon shows no genetic differentiation between islands. There are 20,000-25,000 Kloss's gibbons remaining in the wild, with the largest proportion located on Siberut. I evaluated the conservation status for all four Mentawai primate species and published a conservation action plan. I assessed the conservation status of these species at the 2006 Asian Primate Red List workshop and their status has been updated in the 2008 IUCN Red List. This research was funded by: a Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant from the National Science Foundation; The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation; Primate Conservation, Inc.; and the New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology.
Publications:
Whittaker, D. J. 2009. Phylogeography of Kloss's gibbon (Hylobates klossii) populations and implications for conservation planning in the Mentawai Islands. In The Gibbons: New Perspectives on Small Ape Socioecology and Population Biology, ed. S. Lappan and D. J. Whittaker. New York: Springer, pp. 73-89.
Whittaker, D. J., J. C. Morales, and D. J. Melnick. 2007. Resolution of the Hylobates phylogeny: congruence of mitochondrial D-loop sequences with molecular, behavioral, and morphological datasets. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 45: 620-628. (PDF)
Whittaker, D. J. 2006. Conservation action plan for the Mentawai primates. Primate Conservation 20: 95-106. (PDF)
Whittaker, D. J. 2005. New population estimates for the Kloss’s gibbon (Hylobates klossii). Oryx 39: 458-461. (PDF)
(Download the full 3.0 MB dissertation pdf.)
