Avian Genomics in Ecology and Evolution

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-v

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2. An Introduction to “Avian Genomics in Ecology and Evolution: From the Lab into the Wild”

   • Robert H. S. Kraus

   Pages 1-6

3. A Historical Perspective of Avian Genomics

   • Michael Wink

   Pages 7-19

4. Avian Genomics in Animal Breeding and the End of the Model Organism

   • Alain Vignal, Lel Eory

   Pages 21-67

5. Avian Chromosomal Evolution

   • Joana Damas, Rebecca E. O’Connor, Darren K. Griffin, Denis M. Larkin

   Pages 69-92

6. Repetitive DNA: The Dark Matter of Avian Genomics

   • Matthias H. Weissensteiner, Alexander Suh

   Pages 93-150

7. Resolving the Avian Tree of Life from Top to Bottom: The Promise and Potential Boundaries of the Phylogenomic Era

   • Edward L. Braun, Joel Cracraft, Peter Houde

   Pages 151-210

8. Avian Species Concepts in the Light of Genomics

   • Jente Ottenburghs

   Pages 211-235

9. Population Genomics and Phylogeography

   • Jente Ottenburghs, Philip Lavretsky, Jeffrey L. Peters, Takeshi Kawakami, Robert H. S. Kraus

   Pages 237-265

10. Avian Population Studies in the Genomic Era

    • Arild Husby, S. Eryn McFarlane, Anna Qvarnström

    Pages 267-293

11. The Contribution of Genomics to Bird Conservation

    • Loren Cassin-Sackett, Andreanna J. Welch, Madhvi X. Venkatraman, Taylor E. Callicrate, Robert C. Fleischer

    Pages 295-330

12. Jurassic Park: What Did the Genomes of Dinosaurs Look Like?

    • Darren K. Griffin, Denis M. Larkin, Rebecca E. O’Connor

    Pages 331-348

Birds catch the public imagination like no other group of animals; in addition, birders are perhaps the largest non-professional naturalist community. Genomics and associated bioinformatics have revolutionised daily life in just a few decades. At the same time, this development has facilitated the application of genomics technology to ecological and evolutionary studies, including biodiversity and conservation at all levels. 

This book reveals how the exciting toolbox of genomics offers new opportunities in all areas of avian biology. It presents contributions from prominent experts at the intersection of avian biology and genomics, and offers an ideal introduction to the world of genomics for students, biologists and bird enthusiasts alike. The book begins with a historical perspective on how genomic technology was adopted by bird ecology and evolution research groups. This led, as the book explains, to a revised understanding of avian evolution, with exciting consequences for biodiversity research as a whole. Lastly, these impacts are illustrated using seminal examples and the latest discoveries from avian biology laboratories around the world.

                       

• Bird genomics
• Avian chromosomal evolution
• B10K project
• Avian chromosomal evolution
• avian biology
• bird conservation
• population genetics
• bird ecology
• bird evolution

• Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Radolfzell, Germany and Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany

  Robert H. S. Kraus

Robert Kraus is an Assistant Professor affiliated with both the Max Planck Institute of Ornithology and Konstanz University in Germany. After graduating in Biology from the Goethe University in Frankfurt, he completed a PhD in genome-wide genetic marker discovery and population genetics in mallard ducks at Wageningen University, the Netherlands. After a brief sojourn in applied nature conservation genetics at the Senckenberg Institute he returned to the study of the molecular ecology of ducks and other waterfowl in his current position, especially with a disease ecology focus and emphasizing functional variation across whole genomes. Dr Kraus is an active contributor to the international bird ten thousand genomes (B10K) consortium, where he leads the immunome working group, and works with the Vertebrate Genome Project in the Genome 10K (VGP/G10K) framework, which is setting new standards in the reference genome assembly of non-model species for comparative genomics using cutting-edge genome sequencing technology. 

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