Our current research topics include:

1. Genomic mechanism of ecological and behavioral adaptation
   Genomic data provide unprecedented power to understand the molecular mechanism of phenotypic evolution such as local adaptation and behavioral specialization.  My lab investigates the genomic basis of ecological adaptation of widespread avian species to examine the driving forces for ecological speciation.  We also establish the association between genetic variations and morphological and behavioral characters in birds that can improve our understanding of avian adaptive radiation and convergent evolution.
2. Evolution of bird nests
   Bird nest types vary remarkably from simple scratches on the ground to complex spherical nests hanging in trees.  This diversity of nest types may be explained by adaptation to the environments in which they breed.  My laboratory has examined the evolutionary patterns of nest characters across the avian phylogeny. 
3. Phylogeography of Palearctic birds
   Phylogeography involves discovering patterns of population structure and investigating the underlying evolutionary processes leading to those structures.  My lab focuses on phylogeography of birds in the Palearctic and East Asia.  These studies can provide a big picture of biogeographic history of avian fauna across the Eurasia.

Location: Interdisciplinary Research Building for Science and Technology C210
Tel: +886-2-2787-2296

Chih-Ming Hung
Associate Research Fellow