Daniel I. Bolnick

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 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:

1. Measuring natural selection in natural populations of sticklebacks to identify ecological interactions that drive diversifying selection.
2. Experimental tests of the theory that intraspecific competition drives and maintains phenotypic variation.
3. Theoretical, observational and experimental studies of the incidence, causes, and implications of individual-level diet variation.
4. Simulation and comparative studies of the evolution of trophically important biomechanical traits.
5. Measuring the speciation clock in Centrarchids (sunfish).
6. Testing whether ecological divergence promotes reproductive isolation in the family Centrarchidae (sunfish).
7. 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.