Past NIMBioS Postdoctoral Fellow
R. Tucker Gilman
Dates: September 2010 – August 2012
Personal website
Project Title: Modeling the evolution of speciation in coevolving systems
As a NIMBioS postdoctoral fellow, Tucker Gilman (Ph.D. Zoology, University of Wisconsin, 2010) studied how populations and species evolve in response to environmental change. One important type of anthropogenic environmental change is the introduction of new species to existing ecosystems. Gilman used analytical models and numerical simulations to study how host species might coevolve with novel parasites, and showed that the ecological outcome is likely to depend on the number of traits that govern the interaction (Nature 2012). Gilman’s work at NIMBioS also included research into how habitat disturbance may affect speciation and species collapse processes (Evolution 2011), and how climate change may affect plant-pollinator mutualisms (Evolutionary Applications 2012). Upon completing his fellowship at NIMBioS, Dr. Gilman accepted a position as Lecturer in Environmental Science in the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Manchester, UK.
Mentors:
Mathematics: Sergey Gavrilets Biology: Ben Fitzpatrick
NIMBioS Seminar: Hybridization, species collapse, and other strange stories
Feature Stories
Investigating the relationship between coevolution and speciation
Escaping parasites and pathogens
Biodiversity can promote survival on a warming planet
Species reemergence after collapse: Possible but different
Video Interview:
Math for frogs
Publications while at NIMBioS
Gilman RT, Kozak G. Accepted (2015). Learning to speciate: the biased learning of mate preferences promotes adaptive radiation. Evolution.
Chaffee DW, Griffin H, Gilman RT. 2013. Sexual imprinting: What strategies should we expect to see in nature? Evolution, 67(12): 3588-3599. [Online]
Gilman RT, Nuismer SL, Jhwueng DC. 2012. Coevolution in multidimensional trait space favors escape from parasites and pathogens. Nature. [Published Online 4 Mar 2012]
Cooper IA, Gilman RT, Boughman JW. 2011. Sexual dimorphism and speciation on two ecological coins: Patterns from nature and theoretical predictions. Evolution. [Online]
Gilman RT, Behm JE. 2011. Hybridization, species collapse, and species reemergence after disturbance to premating mechanisms of reproductive isolation. Evolution, 65(9): 2592-2605. [Online]
Gilman RT, Fabina NS, Abbott KC, and Rafferty NE. 2011. Evolution of plant–pollinator mutualisms in response to climate change. Evolutionary Applications. Early View [online] Sept. 7, 2011.
Presentations while at NIMBioS
Gilman RT. 7 February 2013. The evolution of sexual imprinting. FroSpects Workshop on Behavior and Speciation, University of Oslo.
Gilman RT. 17 January 2013. Hybridization, species collapse, and reemergence after habitat disturbance. FroSpects Workshop on Species Interactions and Speciation, Umea University.
Gilman RT. 2012. Using models to predict evolution in changing environments. University of Manchester, Manchester, England, UK.
Gilman RT. 22 November 2012. Using models to predict evolution in response to environmental change. Animal and Plant Sciences Seminar, University of Sheffield.
Gilman RT. 16 November 2012. Using models to predict evolution in response to environmental change. Invited Seminar, Centre for Mathematical Biology, University of Bath.
Gilman RT. 6 November 2012. Using models to predict evolution in response to environmental change. EBC Graduate School Seminar, Uppsala University.
Gilman RT. 26 October 2012. Using models to predict evolution in response to environmental change. Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis Seminar, University of Oslo.
Gilman RT, Behm JE. 2011. Hybridization, species collapse, and species reemergence after disturbance to premating mechanisms of reproductive isolation. 96th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, Austin, TX.
Gilman RT. 2011. Models in evolutionary ecology: how theory can help us to understand biological processes. Bioinformatics Colloquium, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX.
Gilman RT and Behm JE. 2011. Hybridization, species collapse, and species reemergence after disturbance to premating mechanisms of reproductive isolation. 96th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, Austin, TX.
Gilman RT. August 2011. Poster: Coevolution in multidimensional trait space favors escape from pathogens and parasites. 13th Congress of the European Society for Evolutionary Biology, Töbingen, Germany.
Education, Outreach and Training
Research Experience for Undergraduates 2012. Working with Heather Finotti (University of Tennessee) and Genny Kozak (University of Illinois), mentored three students (Sarah Collier, Olatomiwa Lasebikan, and Yanjie Liu) as they explored the evolution of male sexual imprinting.
Collier S, Lasebikan O, Liu Y, Finotti H, Kozak G, Gilman T. July 2012. Poster: Modeling the evolution of male sexual imprinting. Society of Mathematical Biology Annual Meeting, Knoxville, TN.
Research Experience for Undergraduates 2011. Working with Tony Jhwueng (NIMBioS), mentored three students (Dana Bostesteanu, Frances Goglio, and Yicong Yong) as they explored the evolution of parental investment strategies (manuscript in preparation).
Mentored Dalton Chaffee and Hayes Griffin (Bearden High School, Knoxville, TN), 2011-12, as they explored the evolution of sexual imprinting (manuscript in preparation).
- Publication: Chaffee DW, Griffin H, Gilman RT. 2013. Sexual imprinting: What strategies should we expect to see in nature? Evolution, 67(12): 3588-3599. [Online]
- Presentation: Griffin HC, Chaffee DW. 25-28 July 2012. Poster: The evolution of sexual imprinting. Society of Mathematical Biology (SMB) 2012 Annual Meeting, Knoxville, TN.
- Presentation: Griffin HC, Chaffee DW. July 2012. The evolution of sexual imprinting. UT STEM REU Symposium, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN.
Investigative Workshop on Modeling Social Complexity (2012). Hosted by the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) and the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, Knoxville, TN.
Workshop on Coevolution and the Structure of Plant-Insect Communities (2011). Invited participant. Hosted by the Mathematical Biosciences Institute at The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.
Joint Synthesis Center Postdoctoral Symposium (2011). Hosted by the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) at Duke University, Durham, NC.
Winter School on Eco-Evolutionary Modeling of Speciation (2011). Hosted by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Abisko, Sweden.
Media Coverage
Crawley, C. Escaping parasites and pathogens: New mathematical model explains how hosts survive parasite attacks. EurekAlert.
Escaping parasites and pathogens. ScienceDaily.
Lower biodiversity hurts species' chances to adapt to climate change. Treehugger.
Collapsed populations can return but may never be the same. Treehugger.
Species reemergence after collapse: Possible but different. EurekAlert.
Species reemergence after collapse: Possible but different, mathematical model shows. ScienceDaily.
Stopping the swarm. Conservation Magazine.
Biodiversity can promote survival on a warming planet. EurekAlert.
Biodiversity can promote survival on a warming planet, mathematical model shows. ScienceDaily.
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