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V. Louise Roth, Professor of Biology

V. Louise Roth

In addition to conceptual work on the biological bases of homology, variation, and parallel evolution, my research has focused on evolutionary changes in size and shape in mammals: the functional consequences of these changes, and the evolutionary modifications of ontogenetic processes that produce them. This work makes use of DNA sequences, morphometric data, and geographic distributions to study macroevolutionary changes within a phylogenetic context. Projects have included DNA sequence phylogenies of squirrels, "virtual" (synchrotron radiation microCT) histology of bone growth in elephants and mammoths, experimental work on prenatal maternal effects on body size in large insular deermice, and morphometric studies of growth in elephants, dwarfism in an insular (Pleistocene) dwarf mammoth, and gigantism in insular deermice.

Contact Info:
Office Location:  241 Bio Sci Bldg, Durham, NC 27708
Office Phone:  (919) 660-7352
Email Address: send me a message

Teaching (Spring 2024):

  • BIOLOGY 546LS.001, BIOLOGY OF MAMMALS Synopsis
    Bio Sci 063, TuTh 03:05 PM-04:20 PM
  • BIOLOGY 546LS.01L, BIOLOGY OF MAMMALS Synopsis
    Bio Sci 054, Tu 04:30 PM-07:00 PM
Education:

Ph.D.Yale University1982
Specialties:

Evolution
Developmental Biology
Organismal Biology and Behavior
Systematics
Research Interests: Morphological and molecular evolution in mammals: size, shape, and ontogeny

In addition to conceptual work on the biological bases of homology, variation, and parallel evolution, my research has focused on evolutionary changes in size and shape in mammals: the functional consequences of these changes, and the evolutionary modifications of ontogenetic processes that produce them. This work makes use of DNA sequences, morphometric data, and geographic distributions to study macroevolutionary changes within a phylogenetic context. Projects have included DNA sequence phylogenies of squirrels, experimental work on prenatal maternal effects on body size in large insular deermice, and morphometric studies of growth in elephants, dwarfism in an insular (Pleistocene) dwarf mammoth, and gigantism in insular deermice.

Keywords:

Africa • Americas • Animals • Arvicolinae • Asia • Bayes Theorem • Biological Evolution • Body Constitution • Body Size • Bone and Bones • California • Central America • Dentition • DNA, Mitochondrial • DNA, Ribosomal • Elephants • Environment • Europe • Eye Proteins • Female • Fossils • Genes, Recessive • Geography • Geological Phenomena • Geology • Hair • Hair Color • Islands • Jaw • Logistic Models • Macroevolution • Male • Mammoths • Mandible • Masseter Muscle • Masticatory Muscles • Muscle Fibers, Skeletal • Muscles • Muser Mentor • Mutation • North America • Paleobiology • Peromyscus • Phenotype • Phylogeny • Rabbits • Rats • Reproducibility of Results • Retinol-Binding Proteins • Rodentia • Sciuridae • Sequence Analysis, DNA • Skull • South America • Species Specificity • Temporal Muscle • Tongue

Representative Publications   (More Publications)   (search)

  1. Price, SA; Hopkins, SSB; Smith, KK; Roth, VL, Tempo of trophic evolution and its impact on mammalian diversification., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 109 no. 18 (May, 2012), pp. 7008-7012, ISSN 0027-8424 [doi]  [abs]
  2. Durst, PAP; Roth, VL, Classification tree methods provide a multifactorial approach to predicting insular body size evolution in rodents., The American Naturalist, vol. 179 no. 4 (April, 2012), pp. 545-553 [22437183], [doi]  [abs]
  3. Curtin, AJ; MacDowell, AA; Schaible, EG; Roth, VL, Noninvasive histological comparison of bone growth patterns among fossil and extant neonatal elephantids using synchrotron radiation X-ray microtomography, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, vol. 32 no. 4 (July, 2012), pp. 939-955, Informa UK Limited, ISSN 0272-4634 [doi]  [abs]
  4. Chi, K-J; Louise Roth, V, Scaling and mechanics of carnivoran footpads reveal the principles of footpad design., Journal of the Royal Society, Interface, vol. 7 no. 49 (August, 2010), pp. 1145-1155, ISSN 1742-5689 (with 18 pp of Electronic Supplementary Material.) [doi]  [abs] [author's comments]
  5. Louise Roth, V; Mercer, JM, Differing rates of macroevolutionary diversification in arboreal squirrels, Current Science, vol. 95 no. 7 (October, 2008), pp. 857-861, ISSN 0011-3891  [abs]
  6. Roth, VL, Variation and versatility in macroevolution, in Variation, a Central Concept in Biology, edited by HallgrÍmsson, B; Hall, BK (2005), pp. 455-474, Academic Press, ISBN 9780120887774 [doi]  [abs] [author's comments]
  7. Mercer, JM; Roth, VL, The effects of Cenozoic global change on squirrel phylogeny., Science (New York, N.Y.), vol. 299 no. 5612 (March, 2003), pp. 1568-1572 (Supporting Online Material: www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/ 1079705/DC1.) [12595609], [doi]  [abs]
  8. Roth, VL, Ecology and evolution of dwarfing in insular elephants, in The World of Elephants: Proceedings of the 1st International Congress, pp. 507-509, edited by Cavarretta, PG; Mussi, M; Palombo, MR (2001), pp. 507-509, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche: Rome
  9. Roth, VL, Character replication, in The Character Concept in Evolutionary Biology, pp. 81-107, edited by Wagner, GP (2001), pp. 81-107, Academic Press


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