Milá Borja

Research

In my group we study the evolutionary processes that generate and maintain biodivesity. We use phenotypic, genetic and genomic data to explore geographic patterns of variation at various spatial scales to infer patterns of gene flow among populations, reconstruct phylogenetic relationships among evolutionary lineages, and identify the selective and historical factors that drive population divergence and the formation of new species. We also explore the genetic basis of fitness traits important in the process of speciation through comparative genomics, using whole genomes of our target species to identify regions under natural selection and find associated candidate genes. We study mainly avian species in tropical and subtropical regions, with an emphasis on recent radiation on islands and continents. Other areas of interest include island biogeography, ecomorphology, bioacoustics, systematics and conservation biology.

Group Members

María Recuerda, PhD student with FPU grant (co-directed with Rafael Zardoya) - Diversification processes in island birds and the genetic basis of adaptation in island populations of the common chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs).

Maëva Gabrielli, PhD student, Université de Toulouse, France (co-directed with Christophe Thébaud) - Evolutionary history and diversification of the gray white-eye Zosterops borbonicus on Reunion Island.

Francisco Morinha, Postdoctoral Researcher, Juan de la Cierva Fellowship (co-directed with Guillermo Blanco) - Phylogeography and conservation genetics of corvids.

Selected Publications

For a full list of publications click here.

Publication statistics in Google Scholar

Publication statistics in Scopus

 Abolins-Abols, M., E. Kornobis, P. Ribeca, K. Wakamatsu, M. P Peterson, E. Ketterson, B. Milá. 2018. A role for differential gene regulation in the rapid diversification of melanic plumage coloration in the dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis). Molecular Ecology, 27:4501-4515.

Friis, G., G. Fandos, A. Zellmer, J. McCormack, B. Faircloth, B. Milá. 2018. Genome-wide signals of drift and local adaptation during rapid lineage divergence in a songbird. Molecular Ecology, 27:5137-5153.

Friis, G., P. Aleixandre, R. Rodríguez-Estrella, A. Navarro-Sigüenza, B. Milá. 2016. Rapid postglacial diversification and long-term stasis within the songbird genus Junco: phylogeographic and phylogenomic evidence. Molecular Ecology, 25: 6175–6195.

Bertrand, J. A. M., B. Delahaie, Y. X. C. Bourgeois, T. Duval, R. García-Jiménez, J. Cornuault, B. Pujol, C. Thébaud, B. Milá. 2016. The role of selection and historical factors in driving population differentiation along an elevational gradient in an island passerine bird. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 29:824-836.

Alvarez, S., J. F. Salter, J. E. McCormack, B. Milá. 2015. Speciation in mountain refugia: phylogeography and demographic history of the pine siskin and black-capped siskin complex. Journal of Avian Biology, 47:335-345.

Milá, B., E. S. Tavares, A. Muñoz Saldaña, T. B. Smith, J. Karubian, A. J. Baker. 2012. A trans-Amazonian screening of mtDNA reveals deep intraspecific divergence in forest birds and suggests a vast underestimation of species diversity. PLoS ONE 7(7): e40541. PDF

Milá, B., B. H. Warren, P. Heeb, C. Thébaud. 2010. The geographic scale of diversification on islands: genetic and morphological divergence at a very small spatial scale in the Mascarene grey white-eye (Aves: Zosterops borbonicus). BMC Evolutionary Biology 10:158. PDF

Milá, B., S. Carranza, O. Guillaume and J. Clobert. 2010. Marked genetic structuring and extreme dispersal limitation in the Pyrenean brook newt Calotriton asper (Amphibia: Salamandridae) revealed by genome-wide AFLP but not mtDNA. Molecular Ecology 19:108-120.

Milá, B., R. K. Wayne, P. S. Fitze and T. B. Smith. 2009. Divergence with gene flow and fine-scale phylogeographic structure in the wedge-billed woodcreeper Glyphorynchus spirurus, a Neotropical rainforest bird. Molecular Ecology 18:2979-2995.

Milá, B., J. E. McCormack, G. Castañeda, R. K. Wayneand T. B. Smith. 2007. Recent postglacial range expansion drives the rapid diversification of a songbird lineage in the genus Junco. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 274:2653-2660.

Milá, B., T. B. Smith and R. K. Wayne. 2007. Speciation and rapid phenotypic differentiation in the yellow-rumped warbler (Dendroica coronata) complex. Molecular Ecology 16:159-173.

Milá, B., T. B. Smith, R. K. Wayne. 2006. Postglacial population expansion drives the evolution of long-distance migration in a songbird. Evolution 60(11):2403-2409.

Milá, B., D.J. Girman, M. Kimura, T.B. Smith. 2000. Genetic evidence for the effect of a post-glacial population expansion on the phylogeography of a North American songbird. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B 267:1033-1040.

Proyectos de investigación

• Phylogeography, genomics, ecomorphology and speciation in the North American bird genus Junco. Collaborators: Guillermo Friis (NYU AbuDhabi), Ellen Ketterson and Jonathan Atwell (Indiana University), Adolfo Navarro (UNAM), John McCormack (Occidental College), Robert Wayne (UCLA). More information here.

• Diversification of the common chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) in the Canary Islands. Collaborators: María Recuerda, Guillermo Blanco, Oscar Frías, Juan Carlos Illera.

• Diversification mechanisms of the Mascarene gray white-eye (Zosterops borbonicus) on the islands of Reunion and Mauritius. Collaborators: Christophe Thébaud and Philipp Heeb, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France. More information here.

• Speciation in the yellow-rumped warbler complex (Setophaga coronata) in North and Central America. Collaborators: Allan Brelsford, David Toews and Darren Irwin, Univ. of British Columbia, Canada. More information here.

• Population divergence, speciation mechanisms and species limits in Amazonian rainforest birds. Collaborators: Javier Pérez-Tris, Christophe Thébaud, CNRS-Guyane, France. More information here.

Fotos: Borja Milá

Para más información visite: / For further information visit: www.borjamila.com