Phenotypes are not wrought by genes alone. The ultimate source of phenotypic variation is developmental innovation, which depends on genetic and environmental factors. Nowhere is this point more apparent than by the widespread existence of a phenomenon known as ‘phenotypic plasticity,’ which is the ability of organisms to produce multiple phenotypes in response to environmental variation. Our research strives to understand how genes and environment influence phenotype production by investigating the developmental, ecological, and evolutionary causes and consequences of phenotypic plasticity.

Specifically, we focus on studying resource polyphenism—the occurrence of environmentally induced discrete intraspecific morphs showing differential niche use—because doing so acts as a nexus for integrating intra- and interspecific species interactions with molecular developmental mechanisms of plasticity. More generally, the study of resource polyphenism serves as a gateway that feeds into diverse fields ranging from molecular biology to community ecology and has led our explorations into the ecological, evolutionary, and molecular origins of novelty, diversity, and adaptation.

By leveraging the strengths of diverse taxa, such as diplogastrid nematodes and spadefoot toad tadpoles, we are addressing important questions about phenotypic plasticity at various levels of biological organization.