Research Areas

Visual
Ecology

Most animals with eyes have a pair of them on their head. However, some animals -- such as  certain bivalves and chitons -- have dozens to hundreds of separate eyes distributed across their bodies. What behaviors do these eyes influence? How may the visual world appear to these unusual animals?

Evolution of
Complex Traits

How and why do new complex traits -- such as jet-propelled swimming in scallops or metal-coated teeth in chitons -- evolve? To seek answers, we identify the structural and genetic components of these traits and ask how, why, when, and in what order they came to be associated.

Comparative Neurobiology

Recent instances of eye evolution in mollusks may help us learn about the co-evolution of sensory systems and neural structures. For example, scallops are unusual among bivalves for having sophisticated eyes, a wide range of light-influenced behaviors, and a relatively complex nervous system.