William Bradshaw
Professor
Christina Holzapfel
Research Associate
mosquito@uoregon.edu
Office: 305 Pacific
Telephone: 541-346-4542
Lab: 305 Pacific
Lab Website
CEEB Faculty
Research Interests
Only model organisms live in a world of endless summer. Animals in the real world live in seasonal environments where fitness is determined by the ability to exploit the favorable season, the ability to mitigate the effects of the unfavorable season, and the ability to make a timely transition between the two lifestyles. We explore the genetic basis of physiological, developmental and reproductive adaptations over seasonal climatic gradients as a window into evolutionary processes governing the differentiation of populations in nature. We use quantitative genetic and molecular approaches to explain the evolution of functional phenotypes. We employ unique computer-controlled environment rooms to create climates from the tropics to the arctic and determine experimentally the adaptive significance of genetic and phenotypic variation in real-world, seasonal contexts.
Selected Publications
Emerson KE, Bradshaw WE, Holzapfel CM. Concordance of the circadian clock with the environment is necessary to maximize fitness in natural populations. Evolution 62:979-983. 2008.
Bradshaw WE, Holzapfel CM. Tantalizing timeless. Science 316:1851-1852. 2007.
Mathias D, Jacky L, Bradshaw WE, Holzapfel CM. Quantitative trait loci associated with photoperiodic response and stage of diapause in the pitcher plant mosquito, Wyeomyia smithii. Genetics 176:391-402. 2007.
Bradshaw WE, Holzapfel CM. Evolutionary response to rapid climate change. Science 312:1477-1478. 2006
Bradshaw WE, Holzapfel CM, Mathias D. Circadian rhythmicity and photoperiodism in the pitcher-plant mosquito: Can the seasonal ltimer evolve independently of the circadian clock? The American Naturalist 167:601-605. 200