Evolutionary Biology and Ecology

Telephone: (919) 962-6958

E-mail: dpfennig [at] unc [dot] edu

Office: 304 Wilson Hall

Mailing Address:
CB# 3280, Coker Hall
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3280

Curriculum vitae  |  Publications  |  Lab Page

Research synopsis:

I am interested in the interplay between evolution, ecology, and development. My research currently focuses on three topics.

First, I seek to understand why living things are so diverse. My research specifically examines how ecological interactions, especially competition for resources, impacts diversification and speciation.

Second, I am interested in determining whether a common feature of development – its tendency to be responsive to changes in the environment – facilitates diversification and evolutionary innovation. For this research, I study phenotypic (developmental) plasticity, where individual organisms vary in response to different environmental conditions. I am especially interested in ascertaining whether such developmental responsiveness promotes the formation of new traits and species.

Finally, I study a striking form of convergent evolution known as Batesian mimicry, which evolves when a palatable species co-opts a warning signal from a dangerous species and thereby deceives its potential predators. Such cases of “life imitating life” demonstrate natural selection’s efficacy in promoting adaptation.

For more details, please visit my lab page by clicking the link above.

An individual’s phenotype is not determined solely by its genes; it nearly always depends on an interaction between genes and environment. For example, morphological variation between the spadefoot toad tadpoles pictured here stems largely from differences in diet (these two are same-aged full siblings). The widespread existence of such developmental plasticity raises a number of important questions, including: How do environmental cues alter development? What is the evolutionary significance of developmental plasticity? How and why does such environmental sensitivity evolve in the first place?