Brodie, Edmund D.
Primary Appointment
BFD Runk Professor of Botany & Director of MLBS, Biology
Contact Information
Email: bbrodie@virginia.edu
Website: http://www.virginia.edu/biology/faculty/brodie.htm
Research Interests
Ecology and evoluionary biology, natural selection, predatory and antipredator adaptations of reptiles and amphibians.
Research Description
I strive to understand both the selective forces shaping biodiversity and the genetic processes that translate natural selection into evolutionary changes. My research focuses on interactions at different levels of biological organization that promote phenotypic and genetic integration, from epistasis between loci within individuals to ecological interactions between different species. The results of interaction can range from genetic coadaptation (the evolution of coadapted gene complexes), to developmental integration, to phenotypic coadaptation of species engaged in coevolutionary interactions. My lab employs a wide variety of approaches to addressing these problems, including quantitative genetics, basic fieldwork, behavioral observations, manipulative experiments, mathematical modeling, and molecular genetics. Much of my work concentrates on the predatory and antipredator adaptations of reptiles and amphibians and the coevolutionary arms races between them. I also explore the evolutionary importance of interactions among conspecifics through studies of indirect genetic effects and social selection, primarily using insect systems.
For more information on research interests, see my lab website: http://www.faculty.virginia.edu/brodie/