Our lab motto: nothing in biology makes sense except in light of the whole organism
Our lab studies ecological and evolutionary physiology, mostly in insects. The common theme running through all our projects is; how do organisms adjust their growth in response to short- or long-term environmental change and what are the consequences to their reproductive output. We work at multiple scales, integrate a number of approaches and always emphasize the level of the whole organism. Some of the approaches we use include stable isotope ecology, calorimetry, respirometry, micro-surgery, energetics, thermal ecology and quantitative genetics. We combine work in the field, greenhouse, and lab.
We currently have six areas of active research:
1. The priority rules underlying resource allocation tradeoffs (more....)
2. Plant - insect interactions (more....)
3. The physiological regulation of body size and development time (more....)
4. Use of carbon stable isotopes in distinguishing between wild and factory reared sterile insects (more....)
5. The causes and consequences of larval color variation in the white-lined sphinx moth (Hyles lineata) (more....)
6. The fitness consequences of puddling in the pipevine swallowtail (more….)
From left: Karen Wang, Goggy Davidowitz, Natasha Tigreros, Cristina Francois, Eileen Gutierez,
Heather Costa, Hunter Clark, Laura Ruiz, Keaton Wilson, Lennie Park, Meck Slagle