Daniel I. Bolnick

Associate Professor, Section of Integrative Biology
Early Career Scientist, Howard Hughes Medical Institute see also the UTeach Program
Lab Web Page Education | Research Interests | Instruction | Awards | Publications

E-mail:
danbolnick@mail.utexas.edu
Office:
PAT 607,
(512) 471-2824
Lab:
(512) 471-1964
Fax:
(512) 471-3878

 

Education

  • B.A., Williams College, MA, 1996
  • Ph.D., University of California at Davis, 2003
  • Postdoc, University of California at Davis, 2003-2004

Research Interests

I am interested in understanding the reciprocal interaction between evolution and ecology. Ecological interactions such as predation, competition, and parasitism are important sources of natural selection that shape species' evolution. Conversely, evolution changes the phenotypic composition of species in ways that can alter their ecological interactions. I am particularly interested in how this feedback loop between ecology and evolution can shape patterns of genetic variation within and among populations, and perhaps drive speciation. Current projects in the lab include:

  1. Genomic analyses of how spatially varying parasite communities drive immune system evolution and other genetic changes in their host.
  2. Experimental evolution of niche width in laboratory populations of beetles, to test the role of ecological interactions in promoting genetic diversity.
  3. Theoretical models of how individual specialization (genetic or environmental variance in resource use within a population) can alter classical ecological models.
  4. Empirical studies of assortative mating, driven by diet variation among conspecific individuals.
    5. Work in the lab combines laboratory and field experiments, observation and comparative analyses, and theoretical modeling.
I am happy to advise students who wish to work on any topic within my area of expertise, particularly speciation, natural selection, and individual specialization. I expect Ph.D. students to develop their own, independent lines of research.

Instruction

BIO 337/CH 368 / PHY 341- UTeach Research Methods

BIO 384K - Speciation (Spring 2006)

BIO 384K - Ecology of Speciation (Spring 2007)

BIO 384K - Muddyboots Statistics (Spring 2008)

BIO 137 - Teaching Evolution

Awards/Honors

  • College of Natural Science Teaching Excellence Award, 2007, University of Texas at Austin.
  • George Mercer Award 2005 from the Ecological Society of America.
  • Dobzhansky Prize 2005 from the Society for the Study of Evolution.
  • American Society of Naturalists' Young Investigator Prize, 2005.
  • Merton Love Award, University of California at Davis, 2004.
  • Henry A. Dwight 1829 Botanical Prize, Williams College 1996.
  • Thomas G. Hardie III 1978 Prize in Environmental Studies, Williams College 1996.
  • Phi Beta Kappa (elected 1996).
  • Sigma Xi (elected 1996).
  • Magna Cum Laude from Williams College, with highest honors in Biology.

Publications

see a complete list of publications with pdf's

  • D. I. Bolnick, L. Snowberg, C. Patenia, O. L. Lau, W. E. Stutz, and T. Ingram. 2009. Habitat choice contributes to adaptive divergence between lake and stream populations of three-spine stickleback. Evolution.63:2004-2016

  • L. K. Snowberg, and D. I. Bolnick. 2008. Assortative mating by diet in a phenotypically unimodal but ecologically variable population of stickleback. American Naturalist 172:733-739.

  • Bolnick, D.I., and O.L. Lau. 2008. Predictable patterns of disruptive selection in three-spine stickleback. American Naturalist 172:1-11.

  • Bolnick, D.I., M. Turelli, H. López-Fernández, P.C. Wainwright, and T.J. Near. 2008. Does accelerated mitochondrial evolution explain ‘Darwin’s corollary’?: asymmetric viability of reciprocal F1 hybrids in centrarchid fishes. Genetics 178:1037-1048.

  • Bolnick, D. I., and B. Fitzpatrick. 2007. Sympatric speciation: theory and empirical data. Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics. 38:459-487.

  • Svänback, R., and D. I. Bolnick. 2007. Intraspecific competition drives increased resource use diversity within a natural population. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Section B. 274:839-844.

  • Bolnick, D. I., and T. J. Near. 2005. Tempo of post-zygotic reproductive isolation in sunfishes (Teleostei: Centrarchidae). Evolution. 59:1754-1767.

  • Bolnick, D.I. 2004. Does intraspecific competition generate disruptive selection? An experimental test in natural populations of sticklebacks. Evolution. 58:608-618.

  • Bolnick, D.I., R. Svanbäck, J.A. Fordyce, L.H. Yang, J.M. Davis, C.D. Hulsey, and M.L. Forister. 2003. The ecology of individuals: incidence and implications of individual specialization. American Naturalist 161:1-28.

  • Bolnick, D.I., and M. Doebeli. 2003. Sexual dimorphism and adaptive speciation: two sides of the same ecological coin. Evolution. 57: 2433-2449.

  • Bolnick, D.I. 2001. Intraspecific competition favours niche width expansion in Drosophila melanogaster. Nature 410:463-466.