E-mail:
danbolnick@mail.utexas.edu
Office:
PAT 607,
(512) 471-2824
Lab:
(512) 471-1964
Fax:
(512) 471-3878
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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 evolutionary consequences of ecological interactions: in particular, I study the evolution of niche breadth, the maintenance of ecological variation, and speciation. To address these topics, I combine empirical work (both field and lab studies), comparative phylogenetics, and theory/simulations. While most of my empirical work uses various Teleost fishes as a study system, I am more interested in questions than particular systems, so I tend to use different taxonomic groups to address different questions. Specific projects include:
- Measuring natural selection in natural populations of sticklebacks to identify ecological interactions that drive diversifying selection.
- Experimental tests of the theory that intraspecific competition drives and maintains phenotypic variation.
- Theoretical, observational and experimental studies of the incidence, causes, and implications of individual-level diet variation.
- Simulation and comparative studies of the evolution of trophically important biomechanical traits.
- Measuring the speciation clock in Centrarchids (sunfish).
- Testing whether ecological divergence promotes reproductive isolation in the family Centrarchidae (sunfish).
- Ecological and selective effects of trait-mediated predator-prey interactions.
I am happy to advise students who wish to work on any topic within my area of expertise, particularly speciation, natural selection, niche evolution, and niche variation. I encourage 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 longer list of publications with pdf's
- Bolnick, D.I. and P. Nosil. In press. Migration load and the strength of selection. Evolution
- Bolnick, D.I., R. SvŠnback, M. Araujo, L. Persson. In press. More generalized populations are also more heterogeneous: comparative support for the niche variation hypothesis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
- çraujo, M.S., D.I.Bolnick, G. Machardo, A. Giaretta, and S. Reis. In press. Using d13C stable isotopes to quantify individual-level diet variation. Oecologia.
- Bolnick, D. I., and B. Fitzpatrick. In press. Sympatric speciation: theory and empirical data. Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics.
- SvŠnback, 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., T J. Near, and P. C. Wainwright. 2006. Body size divergence promotes post-zygotic reproductive isolation in centrarchids. Evolutionary Ecology Research. 8:903-913
- Bolnick, D. I. 2006. A multi-species outcome of a common model of sympatric speciation. Journal of Theoretical Biology 241: 734-744.
- 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. and E. L. Preisser. 2005. Resource availability modifies the strength of trait-mediated predator-prey interactions. Ecology 86:2771-2779.
- Wainwright, P. C., M. E. Alfaro, D. I. Bolnick, and C. D. Hulsey. 2005. Many-to-one mapping of form to function: a general principle of organismal design. Integrative and Comparative Biology. 45: 256-262
- Near, T.J., D. I. Bolnick, and P. C. Wainwright. 2005. Fossil calibrations and molecular divergence time estimates in centrarchids fishes (Teleostei: Centrarchidae) . Evolution.59:1768-1782.
- Bolnick, D. I. 2004. Waiting for sympatric speciation. Evolution. 58: 895-899.
- 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. and M. Doebeli. 2003. Sexual dimorphism and sympatric speciation: two sides of the same ecological coin. Evolution 57: 2433-2449.
- Bolnick, D. I., R. Svanback, 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., L. H. Yang, J. A. Fordyce, J. M. Davis, and R. Svanback. 2002. Measuring individual-level diet specialization. Ecology 83: 2936-2941.
- Bolnick, D. I. 2001. Intraspecific competition favours niche width expansion in Drosophila melanogaster. Nature 410:463-466.
- Ho, JD., D. I. Bolnick, H. C. Cluett, W. S. Morgan, D. A. Beiler, N. Gerhart, and E. B. Grossmann 1995. Farms to Forest, a Naturalists Guide to Hopkins Memorial Forest. Williams College Center for Environmental Studies: Williamstown, MA. 169 pages.
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