NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute for FY 2012 in Australia

Odom Karan J, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds Karan Jessica Odom of University of Maryland, Baltimore County to conduct a research project, entitled "Reconstructing the evolutionary history of female song in birds: did the ancestral female songbird sing?" during the summer of 2012 at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. The host scientist is Dr. Naomi E. Langmore. The Intellectual Merit of the research project is to determine the evolutionary history of female song in songbirds. Songbirds are heavily studied for their complex, learned songs; however, the majority of research focuses mostly on males from temperate regions. Yet, in the tropics where the majority of bird species are found, females of many species sing. The approach is to use ancestral state reconstruction to reconstruct the history of female song in songbirds to determine whether female song evolved along with male song. Broader Impacts of an EAPSI fellowship include providing the Fellow a first-hand research experience outside the U.S.; an introduction to the science, science policy, and scientific infrastructure of the respective location; and an orientation to the society, culture and language. These activities meet the NSF goal to educate for international collaborations early in the career of its scientists, engineers, and educators, thus ensuring a globally aware U.S. scientific workforce.