Rick Lapoint

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
E-mail: rlapoint@email.arizona.edu
Lab: BioSciences West 327
Mailing address: P.O. Box 210088
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona 85721-0088

• Curriculum Vitae (pdf)
• Research Interests
• Publications

My research interests revolve around the evolution of diverse radiations. Closely related to the genetic workhorse Drosophila melanogaster, Scaptomyza is a large and ecologically diverse genus of Drosophilidae. Recent research has shown that Scaptomyza is likely to have originated in the Hawaiian Islands, migrated to the continents in one or more events and subsequently diversified. This biogeographic pattern makes the genus an especially interesting clade, since diversifying on islands and re-colonizing mainland habitats is considered extremely rare. Additionally, While most Drosophila species live off of the microbes that decay plant matter, Scaptomyza exploit a wide variety of habitats and food sources, including spider eggs, microflora on morning glories and, interestingly, mining living plant material. My research in the Whiteman lab will augment the ongoing studies of the evolution of herbivory and leaf-mining by framing them in a phylogenetic context. Over the course of my postdoc I hope to 1) Infer the phylogenetic relationships in the genus Scaptomyza, particularly of species within groups that have evolved leaf-mining lifestyles and 2) Examine the evolutionary history of leaf mining, tracking when, where and how often leafmining has evolved in this clade.