DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Bridging micro- and macroevolution in a top Neotropical predator

University Of Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

The large-scale, macroevolutionary patterns observed in the fossil record span millions of years, and the processes behind these patterns are responsible for generating the diversity in biological organisms that exist today. On the microevolutionary scale, examples of natural selection are common - both in nature and in laboratory experiments - and often can be observed over a few generations. A large advantage of working on the microevolutionary scale is the ability to manipulate organisms to understand the underlying mechanisms and processes behind observed patterns. However, extending the knowledge of microevolutionary processes to deeper time scales will be crucial to understanding the generation of biodiversity. Elucidating the contexts in which microevolutionary processes extend beyond short time scales aids both in advancing the clarity of evolutionary theory as well as strengthening application to broader non-scientific aims. Furthermore, understanding how complex traits are inherited across time scales and genetic diversity can have important impacts on biomedical and agricultural applications. Neotropical army ants are keystone predators of leaf litter communities with broad geographic ranges and diverse physical forms shaped by dietary ecology. This project leverages existing genomic data demonstrating the macroevolutionary pattern for Neotropical army ants to determine whether changes in physical form at intermediate time scales occur due to heritable and non-heritable variation in existing lineages. The project explores whether change in physical form at the macroevolutionary scale can be reduced to one of the most basic Darwinian microevolutionary processes - natural selection by heritable variation. The data to address these questions will be generated by measuring variation in genetics and physical form, and using a range of quantitative genetic, genomic, and morphometric analytical methods. This work will take place at the Field Museum of Natural History, an ideal location for public science education, community outreach, and mentorship.