More than 50% of North America’s migratory bird species are estimated to be declining and without coordinated conservation efforts many species face extinction.   In efforts to respond to these conservation challenges, our lab works with collaborators within and outside of academia as part of the Bird Genoscape Project (www.birdgenoscape.org).  The main goals of the Bird Genoscape Project include:  1) Creating comprehensive, visually impactful, migratory flyway maps for birds that can be used to motivate conservation efforts across geographic and political boundaries, and 2) Mapping the potential for bird populations to adapt to climate change.  

Recent Relevant Publications:

• Sheela P. Turbek, C. Bossu, C. Rayne, C. Gruppi, B.E. Kus, M. Whitfield, T.B. Smith, E.H. Paxton, R.A. Bay, and K.C. Ruegg.  2023. Historical DNA reveals climate adaptation in an endangered songbird.  Nature Climate Change. 377(6613):1384-1385.

• Ruegg, K. C., R. A. Bay, E. C. Anderson, J. Saracco, R. J. Harrigan, M. Whitefield, E. H. Paxton, T. B. Smith. 2018.  Ecological genomics predicts climate vulnerability in an endangered southwestern songbird.  Ecology Letters, 21(7): 1085 – 1096.  

• Bay, R. A., R. J. Harrigan, V. L. Underwood, H. L. Gibbs, T. B. Smith, and K. C. Ruegg.  2018. Genomic signals of selection predict climate-driven population declines.  Science, 359: 83-86. 

• Ruegg, K. C., Anderson, E. C., Harrigan, R. J., Paxton, K. L., Kelly, J. F., Moore, F. and Smith, T. B.  2017. Genetic assignment with isotopes and habitat suitability (gaiah), a migratory bird case study. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 8(10): 1241-1252, http://doi:10.1111/2041-210X.12800

• Ruegg, K. C., E. C. Anderson, K. L. Paxton, *V. Apkenas, S. Lao, R. B. Siegel, D. F. DeSante, F. Moore and T. B. Smith. 2014.  Mapping migration in a songbird using high-resolution genetic tags.  Molecular Ecology, 23(23): 5726-5739. DOI: 10.1111/mec.12977. 

Migratory divides are regions of contact between populations of birds with distinct migratory routes and over-wintering locations.  Theory suggests that divergence in seasonal migration may lead to differences in timing and orientation and that these traits may, in turn, drive ecological speciation. My research in this area has focused on exploring the role of seasonal migration in the process of ecological speciation across migratory divides.  Currently, our lab is focusing on the virtually unexplored role of selection on the wintering grounds in the process of adaptive divergence.  

Relevant Publications:

• Bay, R. A. and K. C. Ruegg. 2017. Genomic islands of divergence or opportunities for adaptive introgression. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London: Series B, 284(1850): 20162414, doi: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2414

• Ruegg, K. C., E. C. Anderson, J. Boone, **J. Pouls, and T.B. Smith. 2014. A role for migration-linked genes and genomic islands in divergence of a songbird. Molecular Ecology, 23(19); 4757-4769. doi: 10.1111/mec.12842.