#  OEB Seminar Series: Robin Hopkins 

 



####  calendar\_today Date and Time 

 **September 7, 2023** 

 03:30PM - 03:30PM EDT 

####  pin\_drop Location 

 **TBD**  



 

 



 

   ![Robin Hopkins](/sites/g/files/omnuum6811/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/oeb/files/robin_hopkins.jpg?itok=xilRF6Ci) 

 

[Robin Hopkins](/people/robin-hopkins)  
John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Natural Sciences  
Faculty Fellow of the Arnold Arboretum  
Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology  
Harvard University *Speciation and the evolution of mate choice in plants*

 **Abstract:** The study of species formation combines the fields of population genetics, systematics, and ecology by bridging the gap between micro and macro evolutionary study. Speciation results from the buildup of reproductive barriers that decrease gene flow between diverging lineages. Understanding the evolutionary forces underlying this accumulation of reproductive isolation (RI) is fundamental to explaining the formation of biodiversity. My research program incorporates findings from ecological research in the field, quantitative genetics research in the greenhouse, molecular genetics research in the laboratory, population genetic modeling, and computational genomics to understand how the forces of selection, mutation, and gene flow interact during the evolution of RI. I study the consequences of hybridization both at the proximate level in patterns of genetic and phenotypic variation and at the ultimate level in patterns of evolutionary outcomes. My research centers on the *Phlox* wildflower system, for which I have created cutting edge tools for genetic and genomic studies as well as acquired abundant knowledge of natural history and ecology for field-based organismal studies. I use this system to study the process of speciation through the evolution of reproductive isolating barriers with particular focus on investigating mate choice.



 

 



 

 See also:- [ OEB Seminars ](/event-type/oeb-seminars)
 
 

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