Sarah K. Huber
Postdoctoral Fellow
Education
Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, 2007
B.S., Duke University, 1999
Postdoctoral
University of Utah, 2007 to present
Research Interests (download
CV)
My PhD research broadly addressed processes related to the evolution
of communication signals, morphological adaptation, and speciation
using Darwin’s finches as a model system. I studied a population of
the medium ground finch (Geospiza fortis) that posses a bimodal
distribution of beak morphology. The songs of the two beak morphs differ
in ways that we would predict given the role of the beak in singing
and models of vocal tract function: large morphs produce songs with
comparatively lower frequencies and vocal performance. The two beak
morphs also mate assortatively over a range of ecological conditions,
and gene flow is limited between beak morphs. These results support
the hypothesis that ecological divergence can result in reproductive
isolation, particularly when the target of ecological selection (beak
morphology) also influences the evolution of mating signals.
My postdoctoral research examines host-parasite ecology in Darwin’s finches.
Darwin’s finches have recently come under the threat of an invasive parasite,
Philornis downsi. As larvae, P. downsi parasitize nestling birds
and have been associated with high nestling mortality and reduced growth
rates of Darwin’s finch nestling. My postdoctoral research, in collaboration
with Dale Clayton, will explore the impacts of P. downsi on fitness of
the medium ground finches (Geospiza fortis). We are also examining
the evolution of possible host defenses to P. downsi, including
immune response and behaviors such as preen and adult provisioning.
Sarah K. Huber Publications
1) Huber SK.
In press. Effects of the introduced parasite Philornis
downsi on nestling growth and mortality in Darwin’s finches. Biological
Conservation.
2) Huber SK, Fernando de Leon L, Hendry
AP, Bermingham E, Podos J. 2007. Reproductive isolation between sympatric
morphs in a bimodal population of Darwin’s finches. Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
274: 1709-1714.
3) Huber SK, Podos J. 2006. Beak morphology
and song features covary in a population of Darwin’s finches (Geospiza fortis). Biological Journal
of the Linnean Society. 88: 489-498.
Herrel A, Podos J, Huber SK, Hendry AP. 2005. Evolution of bite force
in Darwin's finches: a key role for head width. Journal of Evolutionary
Biology. 18(3): 669-675.
4) Herrel A, Podos J, Huber SK, Hendry
AP. 2005. Bite performance and morphology in a population of Darwin's
finches: implications for the evolution of beak shape. Functional Ecology.
19: 43-48.
5) Podos J, Huber SK, Taft B. 2004. Bird
song: The interface of evolution and mechanism. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics.
35: 55-87.
6) Huber SK, Lemons PP. 2002. Threats
to Biodiversity: A Case Study of Hawaiian Birds. National Center
for Case Study Teaching in Science, University at Buffalo, State University
of New York, NY.
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/cases/hawaii/hawaii.html
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/cases/hawaii/hawaii_notes.html
7) Lemons PP, Huber SK. 2001. Dr. Collins
and the Case of the Mysterious Infection. National Center for Case
Study Teaching in Science, University at Buffalo, State University of
New York, NY.
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/cases/infection/infection.html
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/cases/infection/infection_notes.html