V. Louise Roth
Associate Professor

919-660-7352, 660-7353

241 Bio Sci

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.

Recent Publications   (More Publications)   (search)

1. V.L. Roth & J.M. Mercer, Differing rates of macroevolutionary diversification in arboreal squirrels, Current Science (Accepted, publication expected 2008), pp. 10, plus 4 figs.  [abs].
2. Davis, C.M. & V.L. Roth, The evolution of sexual size dimorphism in cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus, Leporidae), Biological Journal of the Linnean Society (Accepted, publication expected 2008), pp. 40 [text & tables] + 4 Figs.  [abs].
3. V.L. Roth, Variation and versatility in macroevolution., in Variation, a Central Concept in Biology, edited by B. HallgrÍmsson & B.K. Hall (2005), pp. 455-474  [author's comments].
4. J.M. Mercer & V.L. Roth, The effects of Cenozoic global change on squirrel phylogeny., Science, vol. 299 (2003), pp. 1568-1572 (Supporting Online Material: www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/ 1079705/DC1.) .
5. V.L. Roth, Ecology and evolution of dwarfing in insular elephants, in The World of Elephants: Proceedings of the 1st International Congress, pp. 507-509, edited by G Cavarretta, P Gioia, M Mussi and MR Palombo (2001), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche: Rome .