Research Interests

I am a tropical evolutionary ecologist with training in entomology, ornithology, botany, molecular ecology, population genetics, applied statistics and mathematics. My research focuses on the natural selection, coevolution and the genetics of warning signaling systems and the fate of these systems facing human induced changes to their environment. My current projects address the origin and fate and genetic architecture of mimetic diversity in noxious warningly colored butterflies of the genus Heliconius. I have also studied the molecular ecology, evolution and conservation of rare and endangered tropical flora and fauna in the Caribbean.
To face the challenges of conserving tropical diversity and preserving ecosystem function we increasingly need to investigate how component species and entire ecological communities respond to global change. Habitat loss, large changes in global temperature, invasive species, emerging disease and other biotic and abiotic factors force species to either move, adapt or go extinct. One approach to understanding the ecological connections and evolutionary potential of our biota to meet this challenge is to contrast the ecological responses of species and communities to anthropogenic change with their evolutionary responses to historical changes in the environment. In other words, to harness the power of evolutionary ecology to study this “anthropogenesis” as we humans remodel our environment.
I am excited to apply evolutionary ecology and molecular population genetics to study this global problem at a local level in the Hawaiian Islands--an ideal natural laboratory: these isolated islands arose sequentially over several millions of years, and each is ecologically heterogeneous with complex communities at different stages of human disturbance with different invasive species such as rats, banana poka (an introduced passion vine) and exotic diseases such as Leptospirosis.

Current research:
In collaboration with researchers at the University of Texas and the University of Puerto Rico I am continuing to develop the warningly colored Heliconius butterflies as a model system for the study of the genetics, ecology & evolution of tropical biodiversity.

With Dr. Bruce Wilcox and Dr. Shannon Bennett (Asia Pacific Institute of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease (APITMID), University of Hawaii, School of Medicine) I am collaborating on a study of the molecular ecology and genetics of emergent Leptospirosis and its invasive mammal hosts.

With John Allen in Engineering (UH Manoa) and other faculty at APITMID I am helping develop a cross-disciplinary program for research experience in biomathematics.
With the help of my 1 year old daughter Anika and several students in Zoology and Botany I am beginning to study evolutionary ecology and genetics of the native and non-native Hawaiian biota.