My main research is focused on the adaptation of migratory organisms to climate change. I am using migratory birds as model group for studying three questions in particular: (1) To what extent is there variation and flexibility in the genetic, physiological and environmental control of migratory behaviour, and how do these different sources of variation translate into phenotypic variation? (2) Can migratory birds adapt to climate change and what are the mechanisms that allow adjustment to changing environmental conditions? (3) What are the populational consequences of different migratory strategies and rates of adaptation? To answer these questions, I am combining a variety of approaches and techniques, ranging from molecular and quantitative genetics to ecophysiology and population ecology.

|Ongoing projects|Students|Publications|

Ongoing projects:

2011-2011: Variation in abundance and body condition of house sparrows Passer domesticus in relation to urban development in Central Spain (GR35/10-A, BSCH-UCM, PI: José I. Aguirre).

2010-2012: Genetic and environmental control of partial migration in the blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla). CGL2009-123971/MCINN (Ministry of Science and Innovation, PI: Francisco Pulido).

2008-2013: Adaptation of avian migratory behaviour to climate change. RYC-2007-01861/MEC (Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, PI: Francisco Pulido).

Students:

Selected publications:

Mueller, J.C., Pulido, F. & Kempenaers, B. 2011. Identification of a gene associated with avian migratory behaviour. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, in press. [Open access]

Pulido, F. & Berthold, P. 2010. Current selection for lower migratory activity will drive the evolution of residency in a migratory bird population. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the USA 107: 7341-7346. [PDF]

Pulido, F. 2007. The genetics and evolution of avian migration. Bioscience 57: 165-174. [PDF]

Pulido, F. 2007. Phenotypic changes in spring arrival: evolution, phenotypic plasticity, effects of weather and condition. Climate Research 35: 5-23. [Open access]

Pulido, F. & Widmer, M. 2005. Are long-distance migrants constrained in their evolutionary response to environmental change? Causes of variation in the timing of autumn migration in a blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) and two garden warbler (Sylvia borin) populations. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1046: 228-241. [PDF]

Pulido, F. & Berthold, P. 2004. Microevolutionary response to climate change. Advances in Ecological Research 35: 149-181. [PDF]

Pulido, F. & Coppack, T. 2004. Correlation between timing of juvenile moult and onset of migration in the blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla). Animal Behaviour 68: 167-173. [PDF]

Coppack, T., Pulido, F., Czisch, M., Auer, D. P. & Berthold, P. 2003. Photoperiodic response may facilitate adaptation to climatic change in migratory birds. Proceedings of the Royal Society London B 270 (Suppl.): S43-S46. [PDF]

Pulido, F., Berthold, P, Mohr, G & Querner, U. 2001. Heritability of the timing of autumn migration in a natural bird population. Proceedings of the Royal Society London B 268: 953-959. [PDF]

Pulido, F., Berthold, P. & van Noordwijk, A. 1996. Frequency of migrants and migratory activity are genetically correlated in a bird population: evolutionary implications. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the USA 93: 14642-14647. [PDF]