​Evan Twomey

Evan Twomey's research is focused on color evolution in poison dart frogs (Dendrobatidae). These frogs are well known for their bright warning colors, which advertise their toxicity to predators. However, coloration plays additional roles in mate choice, population divergence, and speciation. His PhD research focused on ultimate questions relating to color: How does mimicry drive color diversification? Does color diversification promote speciation? What is the role of color in mate choice? More recently, his postdoctoral research has focused on proximate questions: What are the physical mechanisms underlying bright colors in these frogs? Does convergent color evolution occur through the evolution of novel mechanisms or through the recurrent use of a conserved mechanistic "toolbox"? What are the genes underlying color? By studying a complex phenotype at both proximate and ultimate levels, Evan's research aims to understand how major evolutionary processes (speciation, convergent evolution) proceed at the smallest scale (skin ultrastructure, genetics).


Contact:
e-mail: evan.twomey(at)protonmail.com
phone: (+49)-069-798-42211
room: 2.416

Publication list (July 2020)