What are the origins of biodiversity?  There is much we still don’t understand about the evolution of new biological species.  Our research focuses on new world tropical butterflies as a model to understand evolution at the population and species level.

In particular, we are interested in the predictability of evolution – to what extent do different populations follow the same evolutionary trajectories.  Convergent evolution, such as mimicry, offers the opportunity to ask whether the same genes, or the same kinds of genetic changes are involved repeatedly when different populations undergo similar evolutionary changes.  By studying the genetic basis of adaptive traits we can answer questions regarding the origins of genetic variation needed for evolution (from novel mutation, hybridization, or standing variation), the kinds of mutations involved in evolutionary change (cis-regulatory versus structural protein changes) and the genetic architecture of genes involved in adaptation and speciation (many genes or few?).  The huge diversity of divergent populations and species in Heliconius offers a wealth of natural variation with which to address these questions.

We have made three short films which illustrate some of the work that we are doing.

The History and Variety of Heliconius Butterflies from Heliconians on Vimeo.

Genetics of Heliconius Butterfly Wing Patterns from Heliconians on Vimeo.

The Evolution of Mimicry in Heliconius Butterflies from Heliconians on Vimeo.

This poster is a recent graphical summary of some of the work being done in the group.