ADAPTATION TO NOVEL ENVIRONMENTS
Feralization abruptly alters the environments of formerly-domesticated organisms. Responses to these changes have not been widely studied, but can provide unique evolutionary insights to help prevent disease outbreaks, conserve wildlife, enhance animal welfare, and bolster food security.
To understand how feral organisms adapt to non-captive settings, my recent work examines the origins and contemporary traits of feral chickens (Gallus gallus). My completed studies of the genomes, morphology, and behavior of chickens on Kauai Island (Hawaii) reveal that this unofficial "state bird" originated from recently-introduced western breeds, as well from Red Junglefowl (the chicken's closest wild relative) transported to Hawaii by ancient Polynesians.
I have also discovered that feral chickens have more diverse coloration, behavior, and microbiomes than their domestic counterparts. I am now investigating how this variability abets feralization in Kauai, in other locales, and in other feral species. This work can enhance our understandings of biotic invasions, adaptive evolution, and familiar species with crucial roles in the remarkable success of our own.
Feralization abruptly alters the environments of formerly-domesticated organisms. Responses to these changes have not been widely studied, but can provide unique evolutionary insights to help prevent disease outbreaks, conserve wildlife, enhance animal welfare, and bolster food security.
To understand how feral organisms adapt to non-captive settings, my recent work examines the origins and contemporary traits of feral chickens (Gallus gallus). My completed studies of the genomes, morphology, and behavior of chickens on Kauai Island (Hawaii) reveal that this unofficial "state bird" originated from recently-introduced western breeds, as well from Red Junglefowl (the chicken's closest wild relative) transported to Hawaii by ancient Polynesians.
I have also discovered that feral chickens have more diverse coloration, behavior, and microbiomes than their domestic counterparts. I am now investigating how this variability abets feralization in Kauai, in other locales, and in other feral species. This work can enhance our understandings of biotic invasions, adaptive evolution, and familiar species with crucial roles in the remarkable success of our own.
ADAPTATION TO SOCIAL CHALLENGES
My PhD studies examined causes of rapid evolution in the coloration of female Ischnura ramburii (Rambur's Forktail), a damselfly that recently invaded the Hawaiian archipelago. Completed field studies and experiments suggest that after colonizing Hawaii, population growth (and attendant increases in sexual harassment) favored females with male-mimetic coloration and behavior. These findings indicate that density-driven sexual conflicts can play important roles in invasive species' evolution.
This project included collaborations with my PhD adviser, Molly Cummings, UT colleagues and undergraduates, & The Locklin Lab (Temple College). The illustration above features drawings by Barrett Klein.
My PhD studies examined causes of rapid evolution in the coloration of female Ischnura ramburii (Rambur's Forktail), a damselfly that recently invaded the Hawaiian archipelago. Completed field studies and experiments suggest that after colonizing Hawaii, population growth (and attendant increases in sexual harassment) favored females with male-mimetic coloration and behavior. These findings indicate that density-driven sexual conflicts can play important roles in invasive species' evolution.
This project included collaborations with my PhD adviser, Molly Cummings, UT colleagues and undergraduates, & The Locklin Lab (Temple College). The illustration above features drawings by Barrett Klein.
EVOLUTION & ECOLOGY OF EMERGING DISEASES
SARS-CoV-2 RNA is shed in the feces of infected individuals, and can be quantified in wastewater samples using RT-qPCR. This offers a powerful tool for assessing community-level infection trends, which in turn permit adaptive policies and resource allocation to combat emerging outbreaks. Wastewater also provides egalitarian indexes of infection prevalence throughout communities, circumventing biases that arise at voluntary, individual-based testing facilities (e.g. differential representation of groups that differ in age, mobility, income level, or immigration status). Together with 10 Nova Southeastern students, I am currently analyzing spatial and temporal trends in SARS-CoV-2 abundance at 14 faciltities representing over 2 million South Florida residents. Our studies of spatial and temporal variation in SARS-CoV-2 RNA can help to broaden our understanding of the ongoing pandemic, permitting informed assessments of fluctuating threats from COVID-19 to South Florida's dense, diverse, and elderly populations.
I am also currently investigating how Toxoplasma gondii, a globally distributed generalist protist that infects 1/3 of the human population, affects the fitness and behavior of wild hosts. Remarkably, we recently discovered that T. gondii infections are associated with costly behavioral boldness toward lions in hyenas. This provides the first clear evidence linking infections of non-felids to lethal interactions with a definitive T. gondii host.
Before starting graduate work, I worked in the Smithsonian Genetics Lab studying avian malaria. My roles included, 1) assessing potential source(s) of pathogen introductions that have decimated Hawaii's native birds, 2) investigating host specialization in avian apicomplexan parasites worldwide, and 3) developing new methods for quantifying bloodborne pathogens.
Toxoplasma gondii work involves collaborations with Zachary Laubach (UC-Boulder) and Kay Holekamp and Thomas Getty (Michigan State University).
Avian malaria work supervised by Carter Atkinson (USGS-BRD) and Robert Fleischer (Smithsonian Genetics Lab).
SARS-CoV-2 RNA is shed in the feces of infected individuals, and can be quantified in wastewater samples using RT-qPCR. This offers a powerful tool for assessing community-level infection trends, which in turn permit adaptive policies and resource allocation to combat emerging outbreaks. Wastewater also provides egalitarian indexes of infection prevalence throughout communities, circumventing biases that arise at voluntary, individual-based testing facilities (e.g. differential representation of groups that differ in age, mobility, income level, or immigration status). Together with 10 Nova Southeastern students, I am currently analyzing spatial and temporal trends in SARS-CoV-2 abundance at 14 faciltities representing over 2 million South Florida residents. Our studies of spatial and temporal variation in SARS-CoV-2 RNA can help to broaden our understanding of the ongoing pandemic, permitting informed assessments of fluctuating threats from COVID-19 to South Florida's dense, diverse, and elderly populations.
I am also currently investigating how Toxoplasma gondii, a globally distributed generalist protist that infects 1/3 of the human population, affects the fitness and behavior of wild hosts. Remarkably, we recently discovered that T. gondii infections are associated with costly behavioral boldness toward lions in hyenas. This provides the first clear evidence linking infections of non-felids to lethal interactions with a definitive T. gondii host.
Before starting graduate work, I worked in the Smithsonian Genetics Lab studying avian malaria. My roles included, 1) assessing potential source(s) of pathogen introductions that have decimated Hawaii's native birds, 2) investigating host specialization in avian apicomplexan parasites worldwide, and 3) developing new methods for quantifying bloodborne pathogens.
Toxoplasma gondii work involves collaborations with Zachary Laubach (UC-Boulder) and Kay Holekamp and Thomas Getty (Michigan State University).
Avian malaria work supervised by Carter Atkinson (USGS-BRD) and Robert Fleischer (Smithsonian Genetics Lab).
ADAPTATION TO ABIOTIC STRESS
Evolutionary changes in metabolic proteins allow some animals to tolerate cold and/or oxygen-limited environments. These changes are therefore expected to accompany colonizations of high elevation and high latitude habitats. To test these predictions, I compared the DNA sequences and 3d structures of alpha-globin and cytochrome b in deer mice spanning altitudinal and latitudinal gradients.
I did this work as an M.S. student in The Storz Lab at The University of Nebraska. Illustration (at right) by Leo Lionni.
Evolutionary changes in metabolic proteins allow some animals to tolerate cold and/or oxygen-limited environments. These changes are therefore expected to accompany colonizations of high elevation and high latitude habitats. To test these predictions, I compared the DNA sequences and 3d structures of alpha-globin and cytochrome b in deer mice spanning altitudinal and latitudinal gradients.
I did this work as an M.S. student in The Storz Lab at The University of Nebraska. Illustration (at right) by Leo Lionni.