Nicolas Luna Niño - Urban-rural genomic comparison in Dutch house sparrow populations

Passer domesticus.

Home institution and supervisors
U Rosario, Colombia.

Host institution and supervisor
Mark Ravinet. UiO, Norway. 2024.

Project description
Anthropogenic pressure has led various organisms to develop phenotypic and genomic adaptations that enable them to thrive in urban environments. To date, few studies have evaluated genomic signatures between urban and rural populations in human-commensal species. The house sparrow (Passer domesticus) is a model bird due to its wide global distribution and presence in both rural and urban areas, as well as its diverse ecological traits (behavior, morphology, and diet). This project aims to conduct genomic scans using whole-genome data from house sparrows in urban and rural areas of the Netherlands, to identify potential genetic differentiations or signatures of selection between these populations. The results are part of a larger study that evaluates differences in diet, beak morphology, immune function, microbiome composition, and selection signatures between urban and rural populations of the house sparrow in the Netherlands.