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Jonathan Brown
Professor of Biology
Ph.D. 1989, Michigan State University; Postdoctoral Fellow 1989-91, Cornell University and 1991-1994, Bucknell University; Evolution of Ecological Interactions.
Tel: 641-269-3096; FAX: 641-269-4285;
Office: 1204; Email: brownj@grinnell.edu
Personal webpage
The study of biodiversity has historically been conducted within two disciplines,
with community ecologists addressing the mechanisms that maintain diversity and
evolutionary biologists addressing speciation and adaptation. The goal of my
research has been to explore the intersection of these ecological and evolutionary
frameworks. I express this goal in two fundamental questions:
- How have ecological interactions influenced mechanisms and rates of diversification?
- How have historical patterns of diversification influenced current species interactions?
A better understanding of diversity thus requires the application of both evolutionary
and ecological methods. My research has focused on host- or habitat-association as
a central factor in mediating the interaction between ecological and evolutionary
processes in natural communities of arthropods, including North American damselfly
species, and gallmaking communities of flies and wasps.
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