Kathleen Donohue
Associate Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
Phone: 617-384-9768
E-mail:
Office: 224 HUH, 22 Divinity Ave
Website: http://www.oeb.harvard.edu/faculty/donohue/
Our lab conducts research on evolutionary ecology and evolutionary genetics in natural plant populations. We are interested in the genetic basis of adaptation, mechanisms of natural selection, and ecotypic differentiation in variable environments. Our research addresses the evolution of phenotypic plasticity, dispersal, dormancy, and parental effects. Our interests in dispersal and dormancy, moreover, extends to their influence on population demography, population genetic structure, and the manner in which they determine the selective environment experienced by an organism.
Recent Publications
Donohue, K., M. S. Heschel, G. C. K. Chiang, C. Butler, D. Barua. 2007. Phytochrome mediates germination responses to multiple seasonal cues. Plant, Cell and Environment 30:202-212.
Hall, J. C, T. E. Tisdale, K. Donohue, and E.M. Kramer. 2006. Developmental basis of an anatomical novelty: heteroarthrocarpy in Cakile lanceolata and Erucaria erucarioides (Brassicaceae). International Journal of Plant Science. 167(4):771-789.
Donohue, K. 2005. Niche construction through phenological plasticity: Life history dynamics and ecological consequences. (Invited review) New Phytologist, Special Issue 166:83-92.
Donohue, K., C. R. Polisetty, N. J. Wender. 2005. Genetic consequences of niche construction: Plasticity-mediated genetic constraints on the evolution of seed dispersal in Arabidopsis thaliana. The American Naturalist 165:537-550.
Donohue, K., L. Dorn, C. Griffith, E. S. Kim, A. Aguilera, C. R. Polisetty, J. Schmitt. 2005. The evolutionary ecology of seed germination of Arabidopsis thaliana: Variable natural selection on germination timing. Evolution 59(4):758-770.
Courses Taught
FS 23g: Freshman Seminar on Darwin’s Finches
OEB53: Evolutionary Biology
OEB 122a and b: Field Research in Ecology and Conservation
OEB 274: Evolutionary Ecology
OEB 270: Genotype-environment interactions: The evolution and consequences of phenotypic plasticity
OEB 271: Natural selection in evolutionary processes
