Meet the Scientist

Name: Shannon Hackett
Position/Title: Associate Curator and Head, Division of Birds
Department: Zoology

1. What do you study related to biodiversity (what are your research questions, what organisms do you work on)?
	I am interested in the evolution of birds, and I use molecular data, especially in the form of DNA sequences, for my research. I study genetic diversity in birds at the population and species level and at much higher taxonomic levels. Therefore, molecular analysis of DNA sequence data and the generation of phylogenetic trees (“trees of life”) are fundamental aspects of my research, and are at the core of much of the research in the Field Museum. Specifically, I use sequences of DNA to make genealogies, or family trees, for individual birds. In the context of these trees I can examine how individuals use the landscape—how much migration there is currently between populations and how much there might have been historically. Such studies at the population and species level tell us such fundamental things as how many basic units (species) there are of birds and how and when and even where bird populations evolved. At deeper levels of divergence, I use DNA sequence data to understand what the major lineages of birds are and how they are related to each other. These species-level trees enable us to organize and interpret the vast amounts of information on the natural history of birds that scientists, bird watchers, and naturalists have gathered over the millennia. For example, in the context of evolutionary trees, we can see how behaviours, feathers patterns and colours have evolved. We can even trace the history of earliest lineages of birds and their roots in dinosaurs.
2. How do you study biodiversity (for example, what technological tools and methodologies do you use in your research)?
	I think that most people are not aware of the scope of research, collections, and laboratories behind the exhibit areas of a modern natural history museum. Museum science is an interesting mixture of old and new. For example, Field Museum has the third largest collection of birds in North America with over 450,000 specimens. any of these specimens were collected over 80 years ago. In contrast, we also have an excellent collection of tissues (all collected within the last 20 years) that form the basis of our genetic diversity studies. Added to the collection resources is a modern facility to conduct these molecular analyses, the Pritzker Laboratory. Thus, I use the tools of a modern molecular biologist—specialized chemicals and machines (Polymerase Chain Reaction Machines) to isolate and amplify DNA, and even more specialized equipment to obtain the actual bird DNA sequences. The last decade has seen tremendous automation in molecular labs, and we now use computers to do much of what we used to have to do with a pen and paper. However, the use of technology doesn’t stop after the sequences are gathered. We used special mapping programs and computer programs and powerful computer clusters to obtain the most optimal results from our data.
3. Where do you study biodiversity?
	My research requires work both in the field where the birds I study live and in the Pritzker Lab in Chicago. Since having a child, I travel to the field less frequently, and I now mostly rely on the collecting efforts of others and on the lab facilities in the museum.
4. How might your research have implications for biological conservation?
	I believe the best conservation comes from the strongest of scientific underpinnings, and that means the best knowledge of what lives in an area and how areas and species are connected in space and through time. Therefore detailed inventories, including documentation with voucher specimens are critical, as are detailed and careful taxonomic and evolutionary studies back in the museum. Therefore, museums and their collections are fundamental and preserving those in perpetuity, a responsibility. To maximize the organization and use of our collections, our specimen data have been entered into a computer database. This database is freely available for searching on the web and therefore is a resource to anyone in the world who has an Internet connection. The genetic diversity studies are important because they can refine the identification and understanding of the basic units of evolution (species), and this enhanced understanding of biological diversity enables us to better protect the natural world.
5. How did you become interested in science? What made you want to be a scientist, and how did you get to The Field Museum?
	I have always been curious about the natural world and in science in general. I grew up in a beautiful part of the world—in the mountains of British Columbia, Canada. After completing an undergraduate degree in biology, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, so I figured I would apply to medical school. I was lucky enough to find a summer job working in the bird collections in the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria. I had an excellent supervisor and mentor, and I loved working with collections and in a museum environment. I subsequently ended up in graduate school in Louisiana. After completing my Ph.D., I had a postdoctoral appointment at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. My husband and I were lucky then to be appointed as assistant curators in the Field Museum, sharing 1.3 positions. Sharing positions is common for couples in the same scientific field, and we were fortunate again to have been subsequently appointed to independent full-time positions.
6. Describe important collaborations for your scientific endeavors (describe your work with other researchers, organizations, or scientific groups, local or indigenous peoples, etc.)
	My research would not be possible without the efforts of many people, governmental agencies, and scientists both in the US and around the World. Studying biodiversity is truly a collaborative endeavor, and ultimately I believe we have a responsibility to increase the scientific infrastructure in the countries where we work. Therefore, we are committed to training programs—to educate people in inventory methods and museum science. Our goals are to make museums in other countries play a central role in inventorying and preserving their own biodiversity. I also have lots of friends and colleagues with whom I collaborate on scientific projects. Finally, probably the most important collaborator I have is my husband, John Bates, the other Field Museum bird curator. We have a truly unique collaborative and synergistic relationship that makes both of us better scientists, parents, and people.

back to Biodiversity In The Neotropics >>