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Juncos, also known as snowbirds, are readily observed in backyards, city parks, and forests. These little gray birds are so common they can be easily overlooked. But for scientists who study animal behavior, ecology, and evolutionary biology, the junco is a rock star. Part of Ordinary Extraordinary Junco (Intro).
(Source: DCMP)
Recapping themes from the prior modules and previewing the junco research of the future, this closing segment reinforces the broad range of important scientific findings involving the Junco. Featuring sound bites from more than a dozen diverse scientists who study juncos, this segment emphasizes the importance of emerging genetic and genomic research tools to complement research in the field. Viewers are reminded to consider all that can be learned from a little backyard bird. Part of Ordinary Extraordinary Junco (Outro).
Scientist William Rowan is renowned for his research on the dark-eyed junco. Before Rowan, it was unknown what environmental cues animals used to time the seasonal changes in their biology. Through a groundbreaking experiment with the junco, Rowan discovered the physiological reaction of organisms to the length of day or night. Shot as an historical re-enactment, this segment provides a glimpse into the history and human dimensions of scientific research and reveals one of the first studies that made juncos well-known to biologists. Part of Ordinary Extraordinary Junco (Chapter 1).
Throughout North America, the species known as the dark-eyed junco exhibits striking differences in feather color, body size, and behavior from place to place. These variations among subspecies have caught the attention of biologists interested in diversification, evolution, and speciation. This segment features footage from junco habitats across the continent as researchers try to decode the riddle of the Junco’s evolutionary history. Part of Ordinary Extraordinary Junco (Chapter 3).
In contrast to the peaceful wildlands featured in the prior segments, the urban campus of the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) seems like an unlikely place to find field biologists studying juncos. But in the early 1980s, some juncos decided to make this atypical urban and coastal habitat their year-round home. Since then, scientists have documented a remarkable array of changes in the physical traits, behaviors, and physiology of the colonist population of juncos at UCSD when compared to juncos from the nearby native range. Part of Ordinary Extraordinary Junco (Chapter 6).
Researchers hitch a ride with the Mexican Navy to visit the breathtakingly beautiful but critically endangered island habitat of Guadeloupe Island. Led by Drs. Borja Mila and Ellen Ketterson, the team sets out to collect some of the first modern data and genetic samples from the juncos found on the remote island, with the goal of learning the origins and evolutionary history of this mysterious species. What they find could have important implications for the future of this fascinating but imperiled population of juncos. Part of Ordinary Extraordinary Junco (Chapter 5).
For nearly 40 years, Dr. Ellen Ketterson and her research team from Indiana University have been studying juncos in the mountain forests of Virginia. This segment introduces viewers to the junco, the researchers, and the core methods they use to study birds. Set in field, lab, and aviary locations, one landmark study is highlighted in detail: a long-term field experiment investigating the complex effects of the hormone testosterone on behavior, physiology, and evolutionary fitness. Part of Ordinary Extraordinary Junco (Chapter 2).
Less familiar to residents of the US and Canada are several junco groups that inhabit the highlands of Mexico and Central America. In this segment, researchers from around the world travel to remote high elevation habitats to study unique junco groups. They explore the concepts of endemism, geographic isolation, and the role of genetic data in classifying species. Part of Ordinary Extraordinary Junco (Chapter 4).
