What Art Thou Little Bird: Developmental Mechanisms for the Origin and Evolution of Birds

Lecture by Arkhat Abzhanov, Associate Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University on January 31, 2013.
Abzhanov explored the new science of evolutionary developmental biology ("evo-devo"). It sheds light on how birds’ highly distinct skulls with toothless beaks have evolved and how modern birds can generate a seemingly endless array of beak shapes. We might think robins are just a common backyard bird, but they actually represent one of the most unusual, successful, and abundant animal groups (the order Aves) in Earth’s history, tracing their origins to a single group of carnivorous bipedal dinosaurs.
Part of the Evolution Matters series, supported by a generous gift from Drs. Herman and Joan Suit.