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Functional morphology, biomechanics, phylogenetics, macroevolution, modeling, and statistics
At
the simplest level, I am interested in how animals function, and the
interaction between morphological design (what variations can animals
have), environmental needs (or selective pressures), and evolutionary
history (phylogeny).
I
am especially interested in sexual dimorphism, especially where males
and females differ in ways that are important for function or ecology.
Sexual dimorphism is a great phenomenon to study because it not only
provides a window into the biology of a species, but also can help us
to understand the functional significance of morphological variation.
Why
does a feature evolve? Is it a result of natural selection? Testing
hypotheses of natural selection and adaptation requires flexible and
powerful analytical methods. I work on phylogenetic methods which aim
to combine phylogenetic relationships (or species pedigree) with our
ideas of biological process to explicitly model the tempo and mode of
evolution.
Current projects in the lab include:
Biomechanics of locomotion in iguanas and the effects of reproduction
The evolution of sexual dimorphism in Anolis lizards
Color vision, target detection, and behavior in Hawaiian Megalagrion damselflies
Phylogenetic methods for adaptive evolution using a direct modeling approach
Please see my lab website for details and lab equipment.
Representative Publications
Butler M.A. (June 25, 2007) Vive le difference! Sexual dimorphism and adaptive patterns in Anolis lizards. Integrative and Comparative Biology doi:10.1093/icb/icm061
Scales J. and Butler M. (June 18, 2007) Are powerful females powerful enough? Acceleration in gravid green iguanas (Iguana iguana). Integrative and Comparative Biology doi:10.1093/icb/icm054
Butler M.A., Sawyer S. A., and Losos J.B. (2007) Sexual dimorphism and adaptive radiation in Anolis lizards. Nature 447:202-205.
Cox
R. M., Butler M. A., and John-Alder H. B. (in press) The evolution of
sexual size dimorphism in reptiles. in: D. J. Fairbairn, W. U.
Blackenhorn, and T. Szekely (eds.), Sex, Size and Gender Roles:
Evolutionary Studies of Sexual Size Dimorphism. Oxford University Press.
Butler M.A. (2005) Time budget and foraging mode of an old-world chameleon, Bradypodion pumilum: are chameleons really unusual? Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 84:797-808.
Butler M.A. and King A.A. (2004) Phylogenetic comparative analysis: a
modeling approach for adaptive evolution. The American Naturalist
164(6):683-695.
Losos J.B., Butler M.A., and Schoener,T.W. (2003) Sexual dimorphism in size and shape in relation to habitat use in Caribbean Anolis
lizards. in J. Kelly McCoy, Stanley F. Fox, and Troy A. Baird (eds.),
Variation in Lizard Social Behavior: Individuals, Populations, and
Species. Pp. 356-380. Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore.
Butler M.A. and Losos J.B. (2002) Multivariate sexual dimorphism, sexual selection, and adaptation in Greater Antillean Anolis lizards. Ecological Monographs 72(4):541-559.
Butler
M.A. Schoener T.W., and Losos J.B. (2000) The relationship between
habitat type and sexual size dimorphism in Greater Antillean Anolis lizards. Evolution 54(1): 259-272.
Butler
M.A. and Losos J.B. (1997) Testing for unequal amounts of evolution in
a continuous character on different branches of a phylogenetic tree
using linear and squared-change parsimony: An example using Lesser
Antillean lizards. Evolution 51(5): 1623-1635.
Butler
M.A. Templeton A.R., and Read B. (1994) DNA fingerprinting in Speke's
gazelle: a test for genetic distinctness, and the correlation between
relatedness and similarity. Molecular Ecology 3: 355-361.
Bolker
J.A., Butler M.A., Kissinger J., Riley M.A. (1997) Addressing the
gender gap in evolutionary biology. Trends in Ecology and Evolution
12(1): 46-47.
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