Biology Weekly Seminar - Danielle Whittaker

Using common scents: chemosignaling with symbiotic microbes in songbirds

Songbirds use smell in reproductive behavior. Recent evidence suggests that the volatile compounds found in preen oil are the products of symbiotic microbes. The composition of microbial communities associated with the gland producing preen oil is strongly affected by social behavior, as physical contact results in microbe sharing among individuals, and these odors may be socially mediated. Dr. Whittaker will discuss the implications of this plasticity for population differentiation and reproductive isolation in the dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis) subspecies complex.