Our paper on local adaptation despite high gene flow in populations of the Dead-Sea Sparrow is out!

One of the most beautiful birds in its genus, the Dead-Sea Sparrow (Passer moabiticus) is also largely mysterious. In this paper, we try to shed some light on the morphological and genetic variation in Israeli populations of this species, located along an environmental gradient.

Our findings indicate the existence of gene flow, suggesting high connectivity among populations, despite a significant latitudinal variation in wing length and body mass. These results are indicative of local adaptation across Israel, suggesting the it's not (distance) length that matters...

This work was a great collaboration with Ron Haran, under the supervision of Dr. Roi Dor (Tel Aviv University).

Find it here:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ibi.12652

(Photo by Ron Haran)

#DeadSeaSparrow #localadaptation #populationgenetics