Biological Sciences
Mike Alfaro
Form, Function, and Diversification
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Dr. Michael Alfaro is a molecular phylogeneticist and evolutionary morphologist interested in how biodiversity evolves. A fundamental assumption of many biodiversity studies is that the morphology of a group substantially reflects that group’s ecological richness, yet the exact nature of most form-function relationships is poorly understood. Dr. Alfaro uses molecular phylogenetic techniques to untangle the evolutionary history of labrid fishes and colubrid snakes, two vertebrate groups with striking patterns of morphological and ecological diversification. Using mathematical and biomechanical models, Dr. Alfaro quantitatively describes the relationship between form and function in ecologically important physiological traits such as feeding performance.
With an explicit map linking morphology to function and an understanding of phylogenetic relationships, Dr. Alfaro seeks to identify factors that promote or constrain physiological diversification. Within this framework, it is possible to quantitatively study many macroevolutionary phenomena that are thought to have shaped the pattern of diversification of life on earth such as historical contingency, evolutionary convergence, and physiological trade-offs. An understanding of the relationship between morphological and ecological richness is also critical to the development of sound policies for the conservation of biodiversity.
As part of these research goals, Dr. Alfaro studies the comparative performance and behavior of statistical phylogenetic methods. He is currently developing a Bayesian statistical approach to the problem of phylogenetic model selection. This work is expected to have broad applicability to the field of bioinformatics where workers are commonly confronted with the problem of choosing a single model of DNA sequence evolution for their analysis from an ever-increasing pool of candidate models.
Contact Information
Michael Alfaro, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
School of Biological Sciences
Washington State University
PO Box 644236
Pullman, WA 99164-4236
Telephone: 509-335-7104
E-mail: alfaro@wsu.edu |
