Dean Adams

Associate Professor

I am interested in the evolution of phenotypic diversity and what ecological and historical processes are responsible for patterns of phenotypic diversification. To address this question I examine patterns of morphological variation among interacting species, and compare patterns from multiple species communities in an evolutionary context. Most of my current research examines ecomorphology in Plethodon salamanders, though I also study other taxonomic systems. A long-term goal of this research is to use a comparative evolutionary perspective to examine the relative importance of ecological and evolutionary processes in the evolution of phenotypic diversification and the regulation of community structure (see Current Research Page for more details).

A secondary emphasis of my research involves developing new analytical techniques to testing ecological and evolutionary hypotheses. Previous work includes the development of methods for the analysis of articulated structures, and methods for quantifying textures and color patterns. Current work involves developing methods for assessing patterns of phenotypic change. We have developed procedures for assessing multivariate patterns of phenotypic plasticity, and for examining patterns of biomechanical motion. Mathematically, these methods are identical, and so we are now developing a generalized method for the analysis of phenotypic change (see Current Research Page for more details).