{"id":630722,"date":"2025-12-16T15:50:28","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T20:50:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=630722"},"modified":"2026-04-21T11:38:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T15:38:52","slug":"review-fall-2024-evolutions-moment-of-truth-solomon-islands-630722","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/review-fall-2024-evolutions-moment-of-truth-solomon-islands-630722\/","title":{"rendered":"Evolution\u2019s moment of truth on the Solomon Islands"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every year biologist Al Uy travels by plane, boat, and foot to remote corners of the South Pacific to answer one of evolution\u2019s biggest mysteries: How do species originate?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":912,"featured_media":635522,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41112],"tags":[42102,18722,19242,18572,16072,93],"class_list":["post-630722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-from-the-magazine","tag-al-uy","tag-department-of-biology","tag-global-engagement","tag-research-finding","tag-school-of-arts-and-sciences","tag-sustainability"],"acf":{"external":"","hide_featured_image":true,"related":"show_related","style":[628502,628462,628172],"content_modules":[{"acf_fc_layout":"media_text_new","anchor":"","class":"","overline":"","title":"

Biologist Al Uy ventures to the South Pacific to answer one of evolution\u2019s biggest mysteries: How do species originate?<\/h2>","content":"Photography by J. Adam Fenster<\/em>\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\nEditor\u2019s note: Since this story was first published on December 9, 2024, the Solomon Islands government has officially designated Yato\u2014a 25,000-acre region on Makira Island where URochester biologist Al Uy conducts field research\u2014as a federally protected conservation area. The online version of this feature was updated and republished on December 16, 2025 with the news. Learn more.<\/a><\/em>\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\nIN THE REMOTE JUNGLES<\/strong> of the Solomon Islands, where the songs of rare birds echo through the dense treetop canopy, professor of biology Al Uy<\/a> has been on a quest to capture a fleeting moment\u2014one that could help unlock the mysteries of evolution. Inspired by a concept coined by prominent evolutionary biologist Ernst Mayr, Uy is focused on what is known as the \u201cmoment of truth\u201d in biology\u2014the precise point where one species begins to split into two. As he observes and studies birds in their natural habitat, Uy offers a glimpse into the ongoing process of evolution, revealing how nature continuously shapes new species before our very eyes.","cta":"","bg":"#ffffff","type":"video","image":"","embed":"","video":630782,"layout":"above","animation":"animation-false"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"mt-0 pt-0 mb-0 pb-0 ","title":"","content":"\u201cThe biggest mystery we\u2019re trying to understand is the origin of diversity, what Darwin called \u2018the mystery of mysteries,\u2019\u201d Uy says. \u201cWhere do species originate and where does diversity come from And once a species originates, how is it maintained?\u201d\r\n\r\nSince 2005, Uy has travelled to the Solomons in the South Pacific to help answer these questions. On a trip this past June, Uy and the members of his lab\u2014including postdoctoral researcher Elsie Shogren, who has accompanied Uy on fieldwork trips since 2022\u2014focused their work on species of flycatcher and honeyeater birds.\r\n\r\nWhile these families of birds are not exclusive to the Solomons, the archipelago\u2014like Darwin\u2019s Galapagos Islands\u2014offers a unique research environment because of its geographical isolation, diverse ecosystem, and the presence of multiple islands with varying conditions and unique species. The islands\u2019 different environments create natural laboratories where species can evolve in isolation, leading to high levels of biodiversity. This isolation, coupled with areas where species interbreed, allows the researchers to study the processes of speciation, adaptation, and gene flow.","background_color":"#ffffff","width":"width-medium"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"mt-0 pt-3 mb-0 pb-0","title":"","content":"\"A\r\n\r\nLONG JOURNEY:<\/strong> Five flights and a bumpy truck ride bring Uy and his team from Rochester\u2019s Hutchison Hall to Makira Island in the Solomons.
In the capital of Kirakira, Uy studies the unique dynamics between two honeyeater bird species. Each day begins at dawn, as the team heads out on foot or by motorboat with local guides to reach various locations around the island.<\/style>","background_color":"#ffffff","width":"width-large"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"mt-0 pt-3 mb-0 pb-1","title":"","content":"Uy and Shogren both began their careers as ecologists, studying the interactions between organisms and their environments. They pivoted, however, when they realized ecology was only one piece of the puzzle and they would need to expand their toolkits to fully explore the complexities of evolutionary biology.\r\n\r\n\u201cIn order to get to the bottom of what was driving the difference in species, we had to also become geneticists,\u201d Uy says.\r\n\r\nBack in Rochester, they\u2019ve partnered with Dean\u2019s Professor of Biology Daven Presgraves<\/a>, who has taught them a range of advanced genomic sequencing tools to better understand the genetic forces driving species diversity and adaptation. By looking at genetic differences and how these relate to traits like feather color or beak shape, Uy, Shogren, and the other members of the Uy lab track how species adapt to their environments and change over time.\r\n\r\n\u201cIf Darwin and Mayr and all those scientists had the amazing technologies we have today, they probably would have answered every question about evolution,\u201d Uy says. \u201cWe are lucky to be born in this timeframe of a technological revolution that has allowed us to explore these fundamental questions of evolutionary biology.\u201d","background_color":"#ffffff","width":"width-medium"},{"acf_fc_layout":"media_text_new","anchor":"","class":"","overline":"","title":"","content":"\"A","cta":"","bg":"#ffffff","type":"video","image":"","embed":"","video":633492,"layout":"right","animation":"animation-false"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"mt-0 pt-3 mb-0 pb-0","title":"","content":"THE JOURNEY FROM UY'S LAB<\/strong> in Hutchison Hall in Rochester to the Solomons involves five flights to reach Makira Island, plus a bumpy two-mile ride in the back of a pickup truck from the airstrip to Kirakira, Makira\u2019s capital. Uy conducts his research across the island, often relying on small boats to reach remote areas, but Kirakira served as the focus of his most recent trip. Here, the modest infrastructure includes houses, several shops, markets, and a hospital.\r\n\r\nThe researchers typically spend several weeks in June in the Solomons, staying in guest houses managed by host families. Most of the houses are raised structures that are designed for the humid climate with open layouts for ventilation. Some households rely on rainwater tanks for water, as plumbing and electricity can be inconsistent. When it\u2019s available, electricity often comes from generators or solar panels.\r\n\r\nOn this particular trip, Uy and Shogren have come to study two species of honeyeater birds: the sooty (black) honeyeater (Myzomela tristrami<\/em>) and the cardinal (red) honeyeater (Myzomela cardinalis<\/em>). The two species do interbreed on the Solomon Islands, but they remain distinct. How do the species maintain their distinct identities even as genetic exchanges are taking place? So far, Uy and Shogren have identified a few environmental and genetic factors, including mating preferences, ecological niches, and mechanisms preventing their genes from fully integrating.","background_color":"#ffffff","width":"width-medium"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"mt-0 pt-3 mb-0 pb-0","title":"","content":"\"five\r\n\r\nBIRD ON A WING:<\/strong> The sooty and cardinal honeyeaters in flight. <\/style>","background_color":"#ffffff","width":"width-large"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"mt-0 pt-3 mb-0 pb-0","title":"","content":"\u201cWe are approaching this with fine-scale genomic tools as well as boots-on-the-ground fieldwork, where we can actually observe the birds and see what they\u2019re doing in real time in terms of their behavior,\u201d Shogren says.\r\n\r\nIn order to understand these dynamics, however, they must first tag and record as many birds as possible in the field, ensuring they gather the data they need for their studies back in the lab in Rochester.","background_color":"#ffffff","width":"width-medium"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"mt-0 pt-3 mb-0 pb-0","title":"","content":"On the Solomons, Uy and Shogren rise before dawn. After a breakfast of crackers and instant coffee, they head out to the jungle alongside a team of islanders called the \u201cKikito Boys\u201d after the local name for the Myzomela cardinalis <\/em>species. Sometimes the journey involves navigating the coastline by motorboat or embarking on a nine-mile hike through sweltering temperatures and tropical humidity. Mosquitos are ever present, and malaria is a constant concern on the island.\r\n\r\nThey work against the clock to set up mist nets\u2014nearly invisible nets used to gently catch birds in the wild. They typically have just a two-hour window in the morning, after bats stop flying and before the sun becomes too strong and the wind picks up, making the nets more visible to birds.\r\n\r\nThe placement of the nets is crucial and requires a skill and precision that the Kikito Boys have honed for years: the birds fly high in the canopy so the Kikito Boys need to scale the trees to strategically place the nets high and close to nests.","background_color":"#ffffff","width":"width-medium"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"mt-0 pt-3 mb-0 pb-0","title":"","content":"\"\"\r\n\r\nTHE KIKITO BOYS:<\/strong> Uy and Shogren work with a team of islanders known as the Kikito Boys to set up mist nets in the jungle canopy to catch and study birds. Involving the local community in the research process is central to Uy's fieldwork. The grassroots approach fosters trust and collaboration, strengthening both the research and their connection with the villagers.<\/style>","background_color":"#ffffff","width":"width-large"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"mt-0 pt-3 mb-0 pb-0","title":"","content":"ONCE A BIRD IS CAUGHT,<\/strong> Uy and Shogren measure the bird\u2019s body size and aspects of its morphology, record its conditions and sex, and take blood samples. They put colored tags on the birds\u2019 feet so they can use binoculars to identify individual birds and study their feeding and mating behaviors, and reconstruct their genealogy. Then the bird is released.\r\n\r\nTo observe how birds defend their territory, Uy and Shogren use taxidermy mounts placed in the birds\u2019 habitat, along with speakers that play recorded bird calls to mimic a live intruder. These setups provoke strong reactions from the birds, who often divebomb the mounts in an attempt to drive them away.\r\n\r\nIn other experiments, the pair have tested how the birds react to mounts of different colors, such as placing a red bird mount in a red bird\u2019s territory versus a black bird mount, to see how they respond to different potential rivals.\r\n\r\n\u201cThat kind of experimentation on top of nesting behavior on top of genetics gives us a more comprehensive understanding of what happens when two species come together,\u201d Uy says.","background_color":"#ffffff","width":"width-medium"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"mt-0 pt-3 mb-0 pb-0","title":"","content":"After a busy morning tagging birds, the team breaks for a lunch of rice, papaya, and root vegetables like cassava, along with the occasional tuna or other fish caught by the Kikito Boys. In the afternoon, they shift their focus to locating new nests scattered across the island. Finding and observing these nests and their inhabitants is important for tracking the birds\u2019 genealogies and understanding their mating behavior.\r\n\r\nTo enhance their efforts, Uy and Shogren have involved members of the local community, offering a small reward for anyone who discovers a new nest. The most successful spotters are often the community\u2019s youngest members.\r\n\r\n\u201cOur fieldwork season usually coincides with school break, and the kids know their neighborhoods and forests,\u201d Uy says. \u201cThey have eyes and ears on the area that we would never have if we tried to do this ourselves.\u201d\r\n\r\nInvolving kids and community members in the research process has been a cornerstone of Uy\u2019s fieldwork. Unlike many other regions where researchers can rely on established infrastructure to conduct fieldwork, the Solomons require a grassroots approach.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe only way to do it is to be embedded in the community,\u201d Uy says.","background_color":"#ffffff","width":"width-medium"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"","title":"PORTRAITS OF A COMMUNITY<\/strong>","content":"\"\"\r\n\r\nPHILIP TAUNI,<\/strong> chief of the Tawani community, and local children on Makira.<\/style>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\nCOLEMAN MWAKANA,<\/strong> chairman of the Yato Management Committee, leads a ritual in which rocks are tossed to placate spirits as the group enters the protected area.<\/style>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\nHARIGA VILLAGERS<\/strong> prepare a feast on the last day of the researchers' visit.<\/style>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\"Three\r\n\r\nJOHN AND JOYCE MURRAY,<\/strong> Professor Uy's host family on Makira and his \u201cadopted parents.\u201d<\/style>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\"bow\r\n\r\nNORMAN WAPA,<\/strong> age 6, ferries people across the Hariga River in a dugout canoe.<\/style>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\"A\r\n\r\nLINA AND KARL RUPEN,<\/strong> relatives of Uy's host family and owners of the general store where the team stocks up before heading out to Yato.<\/style>","background_color":"#ffffff","width":"width-large"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"mt-0 pt-3 mb-0 pb-0","title":"","content":"BUILDING ON MUTUAL RESPECT, TRUST, AND COLLABORATION<\/strong> required years of groundwork engaging in open dialogues with the villagers and fully immersing himself in the culture and community.\r\n\r\nDuring their weeks on Makira, Uy and Shogren are often invited to dinners and feasts and to give talks to schoolchildren about their work.\r\n\r\nFor Uy, a self-proclaimed introvert, these interactions did not come easily at first. However, he has since become fluent in Pijin\u2014the local language, which is a mix of native languages and English. He has become close with his host family, John and Joyce Murray, and calls them his \u201cadopted parents.\u201d","background_color":"#ffffff","width":"width-medium"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"mt-0 pt-3 mb-0 pb-0","title":"","content":"This strong bond with the community didn\u2019t only foster Uy\u2019s research efforts\u2014it also opened the door for him to work alongside villagers in conservation efforts.\r\n\r\nIn 2005, logging companies began moving into the area. Many villagers initially supported logging, drawn by its financial benefits. However, they soon grew concerned about the long-term effects on their land and resources and the island\u2019s biodiversity\u2014including the birds Uy studies. The villagers enlisted Uy to work with them to explore alternative ways of protecting their forests while still supporting their economic needs.\r\n\r\nThe Solomons operate under a unique blend of modern government and traditional community structures. Every piece of land in the Solomon Islands is owned by an indigenous community recognized by the federal government. The national government is led by a prime minister elected by the National Parliament, and the country is divided into provinces, each with its own government responsible for local affairs. This arrangement is complemented by traditional systems, where local chiefs and village elders have the final say in community decisions.","background_color":"#ffffff","width":"width-medium"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"mt-0 pt-3 mb-0 pb-0","title":"","content":"
\r\n\r\n