The department of Integrative Biology presents a seminar with Cris Ledon-Rettig, Assistant Professor, Indiana University Bloomington Department of Biology, The mismeasure of a bird: Crossbill myths and their implications for broad (mis)understanding of mechanisms underlying annual cycles of reproduction, plumage molt, and movement.

Whether and how evolution is influenced by phenotypic plasticity — the ability of organisms to express different phenotypes in response to environmental cues — persists as a fundamental question in evolutionary and developmental biology. Answering this question depends on both a mechanistic understanding of plasticity and comparisons across species to assess how those mechanisms change. The Ledon-Rettig lab uses both approaches in a clade of North American spadefoot toads, whose tadpoles exhibit remarkable behavioral plasticity: based on dietary and social cues, these tadpoles can develop as aggressive cannibals. By integrating a diverse set of techniques, her group has provided evidence that this dramatic behavioral phenotype has evolved from ancestral plasticity, involves the vertebrate hormonal stress response, and results in behavioral and physiological effects across life stages that may “recalibrate” fitness. Please join Cris for a talk presenting several projects that assess the causes and consequences of plasticity through the lives of these unique frogs. 
 

https://www.ledonrettig.com/

Accommodations for disabilities may be made by contacting 541-737-2993 or ib@oregonstate.edu.