Evolution
Studies in evolution in the Division of Biological Sciences address a range of evolutionary processes at multiple levels of organization and using a wide array of approaches, including genetics, genomics, computation, field studies, advanced imaging, phylogenomics, and behavioral experiments. Research topics include chromosome evolution, evolution of communication, evolution of novel traits, molecular evolution, phylogeography, and community and population dynamics. Research in this area benefits from several campus core research facilities, state-of-the-art laboratories, walk-in acoustic chambers, climate-controlled chambers, and an artificial pond facility.
Faculty & Research Interests
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James Birchler
Chromosome evolution and function in plants and fruit fly
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Reginald Cocroft
Insect communication, behavioral ecology and evolution
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Lori Eggert
Ecological pressures that shape animal populations
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Andrea Eveland
Gene regulatory mechanisms controlling plant architecture traits in cereal crops
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Sherry Flint-Garcia
The genetics and consequences of maize domestication and breeding
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Candace Galen
Ecology and evolution in natural plant populations
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Elizabeth King
Genomic approaches to the study of life history evolution
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Manuel Leal
Our research is broadly classified into three categories: animal communication, behavioral drive, and axes of divergence.
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Paula McSteen
Genetic regulation of meristem function in plants
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Kathleen Newton
Organization and gene content of mitochondrial genomes in plants
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J. Chris Pires
Systematics, phylogenetics, and genome evolution of polyploidy plants
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Johannes Schul
Evolution and neuroethology of acoustic communication systems in insects and amphibians
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R. Keith Slotkin
Determining how transposable elements become epigenetically silenced
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Lauren Sullivan
Spatial plant population and community ecology
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John C. Walker
Molecular mechanisms regulating cellular signaling in plants