Invasion and developmental genomics in an emerging bird model: The African sacred ibis

Abstract

The African sacred ibis is an alien invasive bird species that has spread rapidly in Taiwan over the past three decades. However, little information is available on the process of their invasion in Taiwan. In recent years, the Forestry Bureau of the Agricultural Committee has actively engaged in the work of removing these invasive birds. We have taken this opportunity to obtain a large number of DNA and embryo samples of the African sacred ibis with the consent of the Forest Service, making it a potentially good model system for evolutionary biology. The beak is a unique biological characteristic of birds. In the past, evolutionary developmental biology research focused on a few bird species such as Darwin's finches, parrots, and domestic ducks. The long curved beak of the African sacred ibis is one of the characteristics of the family Ibis. The African sacred ibis also has the characteristics of naked neck and long feet. Understanding the genetic and molecular basis of the characteristics of the African sacred ibis is also helpful for understanding the genetic basis of the evolution of other long-billed and long-footed waterbirds, and it is also beneficial to the fields of organ development and tissue engineering.