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Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor;
Ph.D., Duke University, 1980

Research and Professional Interests:

My interests revolve what I call “the ecology of natural selection,” which is the relationship between ecological factors that are agents of natural selection and the effects that adaptation has on an organism’s ecological relationships. Put in simpler terms, I’m interested in how abiotic factors like temperature and biotic factors like predation act selectively - which traits distinguish individuals that thrive from those that do not? But I’m also interested in how the spread of useful traits through a population might change that population in other ways - if population size increases because fewer individuals are lost to predation, does the population now face a new challenge in limited resources or susceptibility to different predators?

Typically, I approach these problems by studying the contrasts among local populations of the same species. I usually begin with observations of populations that differ from one another in body size, life history, or sexual behavior patterns. When I find such differences, I ask whether they are genetically based and, if so, whether they are maintained by divergent effects of natural selection. Obtaining the answers to these questions requires a combination of experimental ecology and population genetics, which explains the wide range of subjects that appear in the publications from my laboratory.

Within this general context, I have focused on a number of specific problems ranging from the differences in inflorescence size among populations of the lily, flypoison, Zigadenus (Amianthium) muscatoxicus in Virginia to the striking divergence in body size in north Florida populations of the sailfin molly, Poecilia latipinna. My current work revolves around the role of population density as a selective agent in the least killifish, Heterandria formosa. Populations of least killifish vary widely in density as well as in the form and amplitude of their fluctuations in density. I am investigating which ecological factors are responsible for these differences in density regimes and what might be their cascading effects. I am also part of a large team of scientists, led by David Reznick of the University of California, Riverside, that is investigating how adaptation in Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) alters how guppies interact with their predators and creates cascading effects on energy flow through the mountain stream ecosystem.

This type of work makes a contribution in two broader areas. First, it helps us understand the power and precision of evolutionary adaptation by uncovering it on very local scales. Second, it opens up an important window on comparative ecology by helping us understand how species cope with different ecological challenges in different locations. The principles derived from this type of work can be applied to a variety of situations, from understanding how fishery stocks respond evolutionarily to harvesting to understanding how a species’ role in a community might vary from one location to another.

My teaching experience has taken me into a variety of courses at FSU, from undergraduate courses focused on the natural history of fish and amphibians to graduate courses focused on statistical methods in ecology. I have guided the training of 14 doctoral students whose work has ranged from the community ecology of Amazonian frogs to the population genetics of sex ratios in wasps. The studies being conducted by my current students include the larval ecology of gray (Lutjanus griseus) and lane (L. synagris) snapper [Andy David], the population genetic structure of gag grouper (Mycteroperca microlepsis) [Nate Jue], the role of male dominance interactions in driving the mating system of and sexual selection in bluefin killifish (Lucania goodei) [Katie McGhee], the significance of variable maternal investment patterns in the least killifish (Heterandria formosa) [Matt Schrader], patterns of gender allocation in the simultaneously hermaphroditic belted sandfish (Serranus subligarius) [Mia Adreani], and variation among locations in the level of hybridization and introgression in water snakes (Nerodia clarki and N. fasciata) [Pierson Hill].

More information on some of these projects and my general approach to problems can be found in the materials on my personal home page.

Selected Publications:

Fuller, R. C., K. L. Carleton, J. M. Fadool, T. C. Spady, and J. Travis. 2005. Genetic and environmental variation in the visual properties of bluefin killifish, Lucania goodei. J. Evol. Biology 18:516-523.

Schrader, M., and J. Travis. 2005. Population differences in pre- and post-fertilization offspring provisioning in the Least Killifish Heterandria formosa. Copeia 2005:649-656.

Fuller, R. C., C. F. Baer, and J. Travis. 2005. How and when selection experiments might actually be useful. Int. Comp. Biol. 45:391-404.

Gunzburger, M. S., and J. Travis. 2005. Effects of multiple predator species on green treefrog (Hyla cinerea) tadpoles. Can. J. Zool. 83:996-1002.

Fuller, R. C., D. Houle, and J. Travis. 2005. Sensory bias as an explanation for the evolution of mate preferences. Am. Nat. 166:437-446.

Gunzburger, M. S. and J. Travis. 2005. Critical literature review of the evidence for unpalatability of amphibian eggs and larvae. J. Herpetology 39:547-571.

Travis, J. 2006. Is it what we know or who we know? Choice of organism and robustness of inference in ecology and evolutionary biology. Am. Nat. 167:303-314.

Richardson, J. M. L., M. S. Gunzburger, and J. Travis. 2006. Variation in predation pressure as a mechanism underlying differences in numerical abundance between populations of the poeciliid fish Heterandria formosa. Oecologia 147:596-605.

Means, D. B., and J. Travis. 2007. Declines in ravine-inhabiting dusky salamanders in the southeastern Coastal Plain. Southeastern Naturalist 6:83-96

Postdoctoral Associates:

Ferrell, David
Hale, Rebecca

Graduate Students:

Adreani, Maria (Mia)
David, Andrew W
Hill, E. Pierson
Jue, Nathaniel K
McGhee, Katherine (Katie) E
Schrader, Matthew S

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