Chickadee hybridization and Cognition

Prof Amber Rice, Lehigh University

When hybridization occurs, selection against hybrids can maintain species barriers. Learning and memory can be important for fitness in many species, but whether cognition is impacted by hybridization is not well understood. Black-capped and Carolina chickadees naturally hybridize, and also rely on learning and memory to cache and retrieve food as an adaptation for overwinter survival. My research on wild-caught adult chickadees indicates that hybrid chickadees show reduced spatial memory, which persists even after we standardized diet and rearing environment. Much of this reduction in memory may be explained by genetic incompatibilities, but our work also suggests that chickadee gut microbiomes may be influencing their cognition.

Amber completed a BA at the College of Wooster in Ohio, followed by a PhD at the University of North Carolina. She first began working with birds during her postdoc at Uppsala University in Sweden. Amber started her faculty position at Lehigh University in 2011. Across her career, Amber has worked with study systems including plants, spiders, toads, and birds, but her interests have always centered around understanding how biodiversity arises and is maintained.

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.