The Moyle Lab
Even in “well studied” groups like birds, relatively little is known about diversity in the tropics. Because of this, the first step in much of my research is to accurately account for this diversity, generally using museum collections and genetic surveys to reveal populations that have independent histories and field surveys to document current distributions and community structure. The genetic data are then used to reconstruct the evolutionary history of groups of interest.
These evolutionary histories can be combined with natural history data and used to test hypotheses about factors that might influence diversification. Much of my work focuses on two insular regions (Melanesia and the Philippines/Greater Sunda islands) that are ideal systems for studying the tempo and mode of speciation in birds. Field expeditions are a large component of my research program, for specimen acquisition as well as collecting life history data.
The lab is now transitioning to genomic-scale DNA datasets, utilizing the incredible advances in next-generation sequencing technology. Specific projects range from fine-scale analysis of closely related populations to phylogenetic studies of entire families or even orders of birds.
I am currently looking for motivated, mature, and hard-working students to join our lab. Prospective students should read some recent papers from the lab to see if our research is a good fit to their interests. If what you see in those papers piques your interest, then email me detailing your research interests and why you would like to join my lab. Please include a CV and a brief description of your experience and interests. Additionally, indicate if you are interested in joining the lab as a PhD or MS student. Although my research currently focuses in SE Asia and the Pacific, students are not restricted to this geographic location and are encouraged to develop their own ideas. Check out current and former graduate students that I have sponsored to gain an idea of the types of research undertaken in my lab.
Considering the type of work we do, the following skills/abilities/interests are particularly imporant for success in our research field:
- Self-motivation
- Bird specimen preparation
- Foreign field work
- Quantitative analysis
- Basic scripting (R, python, etc.)
- Drive to ask questions about evolutionary biology
- Manthey JD,RG Moyle, DF Gawin, MA Rahman, MFS Ramji, FH Sheldon.(In Press) Genomic phylogeography of the endemic Mountain Blackeye of Borneo (Chlorocharis emiliae): montane and lowland populations differ in patterns of Pleistocene diversification. Journal of Biogeography.
- Manthey JD, M Geiger, <RG Moyle.(2017) Relationships of morphological groups in the Northern Flicker superspecies complex (Colaptes auratus $ C. chrysoides). Systematic Biodiversity.
- Moyle RG, CH Oliveros, MJ Andersen, PA Hosner, BW Benz, JD Manthey, SL Travers, RM Brown, BC Faircloth.(2016) Tectonic collision and uplift of Wallacea triggered the global songbird radiation. Nature Communications.
- Uy JA, EA Cooper, S Cutie, MR Concannon, JW Poelstra, RG Moyle, CE Filardi.(2016) Mutations in different pigmentation genes are associated with parallel melanism in island flycatchers. Pro. R. Soc. B.
- Dzielski SA, BV Doren, JP Hruska, JM Hite. (2016) Reproductive biology of the Sapayoa (Sapayoa aenigma), the "Old World suboscine" of the New World. The Auk.
- Manthey JD, LC Campillo, KJ Burns, RG Moyle.(2016) Comparison of target-capture and restriction-site associated DNA sequencing for phylogenomics: a test in Cardinalid Tanagers (Aves, Genus: Piranga). Systematic Biology.
- Klicka LK, BE Kus, PO Title, KJ Burns.(2015) Conservation genomics reveals multiple evolutionary units within Bell's Vireo. Conservation Genetics.
- Sheldon FH, HW Lim, RG Moyle.(2015) Return to the Malya Archipelago: the biogeography of Sundaic rainforest birds. Journal of Ornithology.
- Hosner PA, H Liu, AT Peterson, RG Moyle.(2015) Rethinking phylogeographic structure and historical refugia in the rufous-capped babbler Cyanoderma ruficeps in light of range-wide genetic sampling and paleodistributional reconstructions. Current Zoology.
- Klicka LB, LC Campillo, JD Manthey, Y Qu. (2015) Comparative phylogeography and niche modeling for three species complexes of SE China (Paradoxornis spp., Pycnonotus spp., Spizixos spp.). Current Zoology.
- Peterson AT, RG Moyle, F Lei, LC Campillo, PA Hosner, LB Klicka, HC Lim, AS Nyári, Y Qu, S Reddy, FH Sheldon, F Zou. (2015) Avian evolution and speciation in the Southeast Asian tropics. Current Zoology.
- Manthey JD and RG Moyle. (2015) Isolation by environment in White-breasted Nuthatches (Sitta carolinensis) of the Madrean Archipelago sky islands: a landscape genomics approach. Molecular Ecology.
- Sheldon FH, HC Lim, RG Moyle. (2015) Return to the Malay Archipelago: the biogeography of Sundaic rainforest birds. Journal of Ornithology.
- Manthey JD, J Klicka, GM Spellman. (2015) Chromosomal patterns of diversity and differentiation in creepers: a next-gen phylogeographic investigation of Certhia americana. Heredity.
- Andersen MJ, HT Shult, A Cibois, JC Thibault, CE Filardi, RG Moyle. (2015) Rapid diversification and secondary sympatry in Australo-Pacific kingfishers (Aves: Alcedinidae: Todiramphus).
- Andersen MJ, PA Hosner, CE Filardi, RG Moyle. (2015) Phylogeny of the monarch flycatchers reveals extensive paraphyly and novel relationships within a major Australo-Pacific radiation. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
- Reddy S, S Sharief, LR Yohe, J Witkowski, PA Hosner, AS Nyari, RG Moyle. (2015) Untangling taxonomic confusion and diversification patterns of the Streak-breasted Scimitar Babblers (Timaliidae: Pomatorhinus ruficollis complex)in southern Asia. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
- Moyle RG, PA Hosner, A Jones, D Outlaw. (2015) Phylogeny and biogeography of Ficedula flycatchers (Aves: Muscicapidae): novel results from fresh source material. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
- Manthey JD, LP Campbell, EE Saupe, J Soberón, CM Hensz, CE Myers, HL Owens, K Ingenloff, AT Peterson, N Barve, A Lira-Noriega, V Barve. In Press. A test of niche centrality as a determinant of population trends and conservation status in threatened and endangered North American birds. Endangered Species Research: doi:10.3354/esr00646.
- Manthey JD, J Klicka, GM Spellman. (2014). Effects of climate change on the evolution of Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) lineages. The Auk.
For a full list of publications, visit individual lab members' web profiles.
Even in “well studied” groups like birds, relatively little is known about diversity in the tropics. Because of this, the first step in much of my research is to accurately account for this diversity, generally using museum collections and genetic surveys to reveal populations that have independent histories and field surveys to document current distributions and community structure. The genetic data are then used to reconstruct the evolutionary history of groups of interest.
These evolutionary histories can be combined with natural history data and used to test hypotheses about factors that might influence diversification. Much of my work focuses on two insular regions (Melanesia and the Philippines/Greater Sunda islands) that are ideal systems for studying the tempo and mode of speciation in birds. Field expeditions are a large component of my research program, for specimen acquisition as well as collecting life history data.
The lab is now transitioning to genomic-scale DNA datasets, utilizing the incredible advances in next-generation sequencing technology. Specific projects range from fine-scale analysis of closely related populations to phylogenetic studies of entire families or even orders of birds.
I am currently looking for motivated, mature, and hard-working students to join our lab. Prospective students should read some recent papers from the lab to see if our research is a good fit to their interests. If what you see in those papers piques your interest, then email me detailing your research interests and why you would like to join my lab. Please include a CV and a brief description of your experience and interests. Additionally, indicate if you are interested in joining the lab as a PhD or MS student. Although my research currently focuses in SE Asia and the Pacific, students are not restricted to this geographic location and are encouraged to develop their own ideas. Check out current and former graduate students that I have sponsored to gain an idea of the types of research undertaken in my lab.
Considering the type of work we do, the following skills/abilities/interests are particularly imporant for success in our research field:
- Self-motivation
- Bird specimen preparation
- Foreign field work
- Quantitative analysis
- Basic scripting (R, python, etc.)
- Drive to ask questions about evolutionary biology
- Manthey JD,RG Moyle, DF Gawin, MA Rahman, MFS Ramji, FH Sheldon.(In Press) Genomic phylogeography of the endemic Mountain Blackeye of Borneo (Chlorocharis emiliae): montane and lowland populations differ in patterns of Pleistocene diversification. Journal of Biogeography.
- Manthey JD, M Geiger, <RG Moyle.(2017) Relationships of morphological groups in the Northern Flicker superspecies complex (Colaptes auratus $ C. chrysoides). Systematic Biodiversity.
- Moyle RG, CH Oliveros, MJ Andersen, PA Hosner, BW Benz, JD Manthey, SL Travers, RM Brown, BC Faircloth.(2016) Tectonic collision and uplift of Wallacea triggered the global songbird radiation. Nature Communications.
- Uy JA, EA Cooper, S Cutie, MR Concannon, JW Poelstra, RG Moyle, CE Filardi.(2016) Mutations in different pigmentation genes are associated with parallel melanism in island flycatchers. Pro. R. Soc. B.
- Dzielski SA, BV Doren, JP Hruska, JM Hite. (2016) Reproductive biology of the Sapayoa (Sapayoa aenigma), the "Old World suboscine" of the New World. The Auk.
- Manthey JD, LC Campillo, KJ Burns, RG Moyle.(2016) Comparison of target-capture and restriction-site associated DNA sequencing for phylogenomics: a test in Cardinalid Tanagers (Aves, Genus: Piranga). Systematic Biology.
- Klicka LK, BE Kus, PO Title, KJ Burns.(2015) Conservation genomics reveals multiple evolutionary units within Bell's Vireo. Conservation Genetics.
- Sheldon FH, HW Lim, RG Moyle.(2015) Return to the Malya Archipelago: the biogeography of Sundaic rainforest birds. Journal of Ornithology.
- Hosner PA, H Liu, AT Peterson, RG Moyle.(2015) Rethinking phylogeographic structure and historical refugia in the rufous-capped babbler Cyanoderma ruficeps in light of range-wide genetic sampling and paleodistributional reconstructions. Current Zoology.
- Klicka LB, LC Campillo, JD Manthey, Y Qu. (2015) Comparative phylogeography and niche modeling for three species complexes of SE China (Paradoxornis spp., Pycnonotus spp., Spizixos spp.). Current Zoology.
- Peterson AT, RG Moyle, F Lei, LC Campillo, PA Hosner, LB Klicka, HC Lim, AS Nyári, Y Qu, S Reddy, FH Sheldon, F Zou. (2015) Avian evolution and speciation in the Southeast Asian tropics. Current Zoology.
- Manthey JD and RG Moyle. (2015) Isolation by environment in White-breasted Nuthatches (Sitta carolinensis) of the Madrean Archipelago sky islands: a landscape genomics approach. Molecular Ecology.
- Sheldon FH, HC Lim, RG Moyle. (2015) Return to the Malay Archipelago: the biogeography of Sundaic rainforest birds. Journal of Ornithology.
- Manthey JD, J Klicka, GM Spellman. (2015) Chromosomal patterns of diversity and differentiation in creepers: a next-gen phylogeographic investigation of Certhia americana. Heredity.
- Andersen MJ, HT Shult, A Cibois, JC Thibault, CE Filardi, RG Moyle. (2015) Rapid diversification and secondary sympatry in Australo-Pacific kingfishers (Aves: Alcedinidae: Todiramphus).
- Andersen MJ, PA Hosner, CE Filardi, RG Moyle. (2015) Phylogeny of the monarch flycatchers reveals extensive paraphyly and novel relationships within a major Australo-Pacific radiation. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
- Reddy S, S Sharief, LR Yohe, J Witkowski, PA Hosner, AS Nyari, RG Moyle. (2015) Untangling taxonomic confusion and diversification patterns of the Streak-breasted Scimitar Babblers (Timaliidae: Pomatorhinus ruficollis complex)in southern Asia. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
- Moyle RG, PA Hosner, A Jones, D Outlaw. (2015) Phylogeny and biogeography of Ficedula flycatchers (Aves: Muscicapidae): novel results from fresh source material. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
- Manthey JD, LP Campbell, EE Saupe, J Soberón, CM Hensz, CE Myers, HL Owens, K Ingenloff, AT Peterson, N Barve, A Lira-Noriega, V Barve. In Press. A test of niche centrality as a determinant of population trends and conservation status in threatened and endangered North American birds. Endangered Species Research: doi:10.3354/esr00646.
- Manthey JD, J Klicka, GM Spellman. (2014). Effects of climate change on the evolution of Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) lineages. The Auk.
For a full list of publications, visit individual lab members' web profiles.