Robert M. Zink
 Professor, Dept. of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Breckenridge Chair of Ornithology,
and Curator of Birds,
Bell Museum of Natural History
Ph.D., University of California-Berkeley, 1983
Contact Information
Phone: 612-624-7207
Fax: 612-624-6777
E-mail: zinkx003@umn.edu
Graduate Faculty Memberships
Conservation Biology; Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Research Interests
Evolution, biogeography and molecular systematics of birds at the population and species level.
Statement
These are exciting times to be in systematics and evolutionary biology. The integration of molecular methods and phylogenetic principles has revolutionized our ability to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships and understand evolutionary processes. My work involves molecular (DNA) studies both among and within species of birds.
The study of geographic variation, or variation within species across space, has a distinguished history. Darwin recognized the evolution of geographic differentiation as one of the first stages in the origin of species. My work focuses on describing the geography of DNA variation in natural bird populations, as research program termed “phylogeography”. After gathering specimens during field expeditions, direct sequencing of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA is used. Although lab work is not always pure fun, the result - the blueprint of heredity, a DNA sequence - is truly awe inspiring. It allows us to understand the recent history of a species, which informs taxonomic, evolutionary and conservation issues (e.g., Zink et al., Mole. Ecol. 12:3069-3075).
Our recent work has emphasized phylogeographic comparisons of many species found over the same area. This research program, termed comparative phylogeography (Zink, 1996, Evolution 50:308-317) allows one to see whether species and communities have responded in concert to common evolutionary events (Zink 2002). Most recently, our comparative phylogeographic studies have involved Eurasia (e.g., Pavlova et al. 2003, Auk 120:744-758). We are finding that species in the current avifauna of Eurasia have not had consistent histories.
I am also interested in the tempo of speciation. Although conventional wisdom suggested that many species alive today originated as a result of isolation caused by the last two major glacial cycles (< 150,000 ybp), our molecular studies suggest that most speciation events among our youngest species are much older (Klicka and Zink 1997). A model (Zink et al. 2004) showed that it was not possible to distinguish the rate of bird speciation from constant rates of speciation and extinction over the last million years.
The use of subspecies in evolutionary and conservation issues has been contentious. I (Zink 2004) think that the use of subspecies requires major changes, including the abandonment of the category itself.
I hope to advise students interested in these issues or a combination thereof. As Curator of Birds at the Bell Museum, I expect students to receive training in museum methods, which will qualify them not only for academic positions, but those in museums as well.
Selected Publications
Pavlova, A., S. Rohwer, S, Drovetski, and R.M. Zink. 2006. Different Post-Pleistocene Eurasian Parids. 2006. The American Genetic Association. pdf format
Zink, R.M., A. Pavlova, S. Rohwer and S. Drovetski. 2006. Barn swallows before barns: population histories and intercontinental colonization. Proceedings of the Royal Society. pdf format
Zink, R.M., J. Klicka. 2006. The tempo of Avian Diversification: A Comment on Johnson and Cicero. 2006. Evolution 60(2) 2006 pp. 411-412. pdf format.
Zink, R.M., S. Drovetski, S. Rowher. 2005. Selective neutrality of mitochondrial ND2 sequences, phylogeography and species limits in Sitta europaea. ScienceDirect - Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 40 (2006) 679-686. pdf format
Zink, R.M., 2005. Natural selection on mitochondrial DNA in Parus and its relevance for phylogeographic studies.
Proceedings R. Soc. B. (2005) 272, 71-78. pdf format
Pavlova, A., R.M. Zink, and S. Rohwer. 2005. Evolutionary history, population genetics, and gene flow in the common rosefinch (Carpodacus erythrinus) ScienceDirect 36 (2005) 669-681. pdf format
Zink, R. M. Natural selection on mitochondrial DNA in Parus and its relevance for phylogeographic inference. Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. B. pdf format
Zink, R. M., J. Klicka, and B.R. Barber. 2004. The tempo of avian diversification during the Quaternary. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 359, 215-220. pdf format
Zink, R.M. 2004. The role of subspecies in obscuring biological diversity and misleading conservation policy. Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. B. 271:561-564. pdf format
Zink, R.M. 2002. Methods in comparative phylogeography, and their application to studying evolution in the North American aridlands. Integrative and Comparative Biology 42:953-959.
pdf format
Klicka, J. and R.M. Zink. 1997. The importance of recent ice ages in speciation: a failed paradigm. Science 277:1666-1669. pdf format
Other Publications
A New Perspective on the Evolutionary History of Darwin's Finches
Comparative Phylogeography of Some Aridland Bird Species
Complex biogeographic history of a holarctic passerine
Genetics, Taxonomy, and Conservation of the Threatened California Gnatcatcher
Holaractic Phylogeography and Species Limits of Three-Toed Woodpeckers
Mitochondrial phylogeny of Locustella and related genera
Phylogeographic Patterns in the great spotted woodpecker Dendrocopos major across Eurasia
Phylogeographic Patterns in Motacilla Flava and Motacilla Citreola: Species Limits and
Population History
Pleistocene effects on North American songbirg evolution
Recent evolutionary history of the bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) across Eurasia
The shifting roles of dispersal and vicariance in biogeography
Towards a framework for understanding the evolution of avian migration
Supplementary Data for Publications
Microsatellite and Mitochondrial DNA Differentiation in the Fox Sparrow
Additional Links
Bell Museum of Natural History
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