Cynthia Riginos
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Biology

University of Queensland, Australia

http://profiles.bacs.uq.edu.au/Cynthia.Riginos.html

Research Interests: Evolutionary genetics of marine animals

One of the fundamental differences between marine and terrestrial animals is that the lifecycles of marine animals frequently include a planktonic larval stage. Given this capacity for extensive genetic interchange between populations, how do genetic differences evolve between populations and species of marine animals? Using common blue mussels (Mytilus spp.), I study how natural selection promotes genetic divergence, making some genes and genomic regions less or more permeable to gene flow. The interplay between gene flow and natural selection affects how genes, organisms, and populations respond to the ecological surroundings and is also critical for understanding how new species are formed. I also use neutral genetic markers to examine factors that affect contemporary and historical patterns of larval movement in mussels and coastal fishes.

Current projects: Ecological genomics of a mussel hybrid zone, Darwinian selection on a gamete recognition gene, Larval dispersal and genetic connectivity of rocky shore fishes

Recent Publications   (More Publications)   (search)

1. Riginos, C., Cryptic vicariance in Gulf of California fishes parallels vicariant patterns found in Baja, California mammals and reptiles, Evolution (Accepted, 2005) .
2. Riginos, C., and C. W. Cunningham, Invited Review: Local adaptation and species segregation in two mussel (Mytilus edulis × Mytilus trossulus) hybrid zones, Molecular Ecology, vol. 14 (2005), pp. 381-400 .
3. Riginos, C., Hickerson, M. J., Henzler, C. M., and C. W. Cunningham, Differential patterns of female and male mtDNA exchange across the Atlantic Ocean in the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis, Evolution, vol. 58 (2004), pp. 2438-2451 .
4. Riginos, C. and J. H. McDonald, Positive selection on an acrosomal sperm protein, M7 lysin, in three species of the mussel genus Mytilus, Molecular Biology and Evolution, vol. 20 (2003), pp. 200-207 .
5. Riginos, C., Sukhdeo, K. and C. W. Cunningham, Evidence for selection at multiple allozyme loci across a mussel hybrid zone., Molecular Biology and Evolution, vol. 19 (2002), pp. 347-351 .