JUNE 24,
2020
by Kelsey
Simpkins, University
of Colorado at Boulder
Barn
swallows live almost everywhere on the planet, recognizable by their forked
tail and agility in the air. Yet while they share these characteristics, these
little birds often look slightly different in each place they live—with some so
distinct they're splitting off to become new species.
Researchers
at CU Boulder think that local parasites are
influencing why barn swallows in Europe, the Middle East and Colorado are
choosing their mates differently. Their new research, published in Evolution,
finds that these parasites could be playing an important role in changing the
traits displayed to attract mates early in the process of the creation of new
species.
"It's
possible we haven't appreciated just how important parasites might be in shaping
the evolution of their hosts," said lead author Amanda Hund, who conducted
the research as a doctoral candidate in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Department.
Every
organism, including humans, has co-evolved with a unique community of parasites,
that by definition live at the expense of their host. While they are not
beneficial to us like many other microbes are, parasites have shaped our own
immune system, pheromones and even our mate selection, previous research has
shown.
Hund set
out to characterize as many parasite communities as she could in barn swallows,
to find out if they could be influencing their mate selection, and therefore
the male birds' physical traits and the creation of new species.
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