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.
LOCATION:TBD STATUS:CONFIRMED DTSTART:20230907T193000Z DTEND:20230907T193000Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR