The processes driving biodiversity are legion. I use the tree of life as a backbone to test hypotheses about how variation in form and function arises. Recent work includes the evolution of the eyespot developmental network (Oliver et al. 2012), signaling in caterpillar-ant interactions (Oliver & Stein 2011), and sexual dimorphism in butterflies (Oliver & Monteiro 2011).
Relevant publications:
- Oliver, J.C., X.L. Tong, L.F. Gall, W.H. Piel, and A. Monteiro. 2012. A single origin for nymphalid butterfly eyespots followed by widespread loss of associated gene expression. PLoS Genetics 8:e1002893. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1002893.
- Oliver, J.C. and L.R. Stein. 2011. Evolution of influence: signaling in a lycaenid-ant interaction. Evolutionary Ecology. 25:1205-1216. doi:10.1007/s10682-011-9478-6
- Oliver, J.C. and A. Monteiro. 2011. On the origins of sexual dimorphism in butterflies. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 278:1981-1988. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2010.2220
- Oliver, J.C. and K.L. Prudic. 2010. Are mimics monophyletic? The necessity of phylogenetic hypothesis tests in character evolution. BMC Evolutionary Biology. 10:239. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-10-239
- Oliver, J.C., K.A. Robertson, and A. Monteiro. 2009. Accommodating natural and sexual selection in butterfly wing pattern evolution. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 276:2369-2375. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2009.0182