Brian Hollis

I study the consequences of sexual selection on adaptation using Drosophila. It is clear that conflict between males and females has resulted in an arms race in many species, but this burden on populations may be mitigated by the 'good genes' females' offspring receive when she mates with quality males. Determining the extent to which sexual selection complements or opposes nonsexual selection will clarify its adaptive value and help us understand why organisms bother to be choosy about their mates.

I'm also interested in how selection acting at the level of genes, which are associated spatially and temporally with one another, translates into higher level patterns in individuals, populations, and species. To this end, I have used the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum--a species in which thousands of individual amoebae come together to form a fruiting body that requires the altruistic self-sacrifice of some--in order to investigate cooperation and conflict.

A common thread in my research is the use of experimental evolution, where populations are studied across many generations while they evolve in manipulated environments.

2011-present
Postdoc, Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Switzerland

2004-2010
Ph.D., Florida State University
"The consequences of sexual selection in Drosophila melanogaster"

2002-2003
M.S., Biology, New York University

1999-2001
B.A., Psychology, University of Texas at San Antonio