profile picture of Kira Delmore
  • Assistant Professor
Research Areas
  • Biological Clocks
  • Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
  • Genetics & Genomics

Biography

Joined the Department in 2018

Associations:

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Research Interests

We study the processes of adaptation and speciation using hybrid zones and variation within single species. These systems are ideal for studying evolutionary processes; they allow us to concentrate on the early stages of speciation and work in natural contexts. Our work focuses specifically on the phenotypic and genetic basis of adaptation and speciation and is aided by recent advances in several fields. For example, we are very interested in the role differences in seasonal migration play in speciation and the genetic basis of this behaviour syndrome. Advances in animal movement ecology and genomic are allowing answer questions we never thought possible. Much of our work focuses on single systems but wherever possible we expand out into larger comparative work using data from museum specimens and sequence archives.


Laboratory Details

Laboratory Address:
Biological Sciences Building West
Room 119 
979-845-6626

Educational Background

  • B.Sc., Queen’s University, Canada, Biology
  • M.A. University of Calgary, Canada, Anthropology (Primatology)
  • Ph.D., 2015 University of British Columbia, Zoology
  • Postdoctoral research, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Germany

Selected Publications

    1. Justen, HC, Easton, WE, Delmore, KE. Mapping seasonal migration in a songbird hybrid zone -- heritability, genetic correlations, and genomic patterns linked to speciation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024;121 (18):e2313442121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2313442121. PubMed PMID:38648483 PubMed Central PMC11067064.
    2. Blain, SA, Justen, HC, Easton, W, Delmore, KE. Reduced hybrid survival in a migratory divide between songbirds. Ecol Lett. 2024;27 (4):e14420. doi: 10.1111/ele.14420. PubMed PMID:38578004 .
    3. Rudolf, J, Philipello, N, Fleihan, T, Dickman, JD, Delmore, KE. Night-time neuronal activation of Cluster N in a North American songbird. PLoS One. 2024;19 (3):e0300479. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300479. PubMed PMID:38512887 PubMed Central PMC10956746.
    4. Louder, MIM, Justen, H, Kimmitt, AA, Lawley, KS, Turner, LM, Dickman, JD et al.. Gene regulation and speciation in a migratory divide between songbirds. Nat Commun. 2024;15 (1):98. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-44352-2. PubMed PMID:38167733 PubMed Central PMC10761872.
    5. Thompson, KA, Brandvain, Y, Coughlan, JM, Delmore, KE, Justen, H, Linnen, CR et al.. The Ecology of Hybrid Incompatibilities. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 2024;16 (9):. doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a041440. PubMed PMID:38151331 PubMed Central PMC11368197.
    6. Delmore, KE, Van Doren, BM, Ullrich, K, Curk, T, van der Jeugd, HP, Liedvogel, M et al.. Structural genomic variation and migratory behavior in a wild songbird. Evol Lett. 2023;7 (6):401-412. doi: 10.1093/evlett/qrad040. PubMed PMID:38045725 PubMed Central PMC10693001.
    7. Alario, A, Trevino, M, Justen, H, Woodman, CJ, Roth, TC, Delmore, KE et al.. Learning and memory in hybrid migratory songbirds: cognition as a reproductive isolating barrier across seasons. Sci Rep. 2023;13 (1):10866. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-37379-4. PubMed PMID:37407574 PubMed Central PMC10322843.
    8. Thorn, CS, Maness, RW, Hulke, JM, Delmore, KE, Criscione, CD. Population genomics of helminth parasites. J Helminthol. 2023;97 :e29. doi: 10.1017/S0022149X23000123. PubMed PMID:36927601 .
    9. de Greef, E, Suh, A, Thorstensen, MJ, Delmore, KE, Fraser, KC. Genomic architecture of migration timing in a long-distance migratory songbird. Sci Rep. 2023;13 (1):2437. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-29470-7. PubMed PMID:36765096 PubMed Central PMC9918537.
    10. Justen, H, Delmore, KE. The genetics of bird migration. Curr Biol. 2022;32 (20):R1144-R1149. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.008. PubMed PMID:36283382 .
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