CNCS Center for Nonlinear and Complex Systems
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Daniel W McShea, Associate Professor of Biology

Daniel W McShea
Contact Info:
Office Location:  242/223 Bio Sci
Office Phone:  919-660-7342 office, 660-7343 lab
Email Address: send me a message
Web Page:  McShea Lab Webpage">McShea Lab Webpage

Teaching (Fall 2008):

  • BIOLOGY 93FCS.03, FOCUS PROG TOPICS IN BIO
    West Duke 107F, MW 10:05 AM-11:20 AM
  • FOCUS 99FCS.03, SPECIAL TOPICS IN FOCUS Synopsis
    Trent 040, Tu 06:00 PM-07:30 PM
  • PHIL 114.01, PHILOSOPHY OF BIOLOGY
    West Duke 108B, MW 11:40 AM-12:55 PM
Education:

Ph.D. University of Chicago 1990
A.B. Harvard College 1978
A.B., Harvard University, 1978, summa cum laude
Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1990
Specialties:

Evolution
Organismal Biology and Behavior
Research Interests: Macroevolution, paleobiology, philosophy of biology

Current projects: 1)Theory of the evolution of complexity, 2) Theory of feeling and motivation

I am interested in large-scale evolutionary trends, that is, trends that include a number of higher taxa and span a large portion of the history of life. Features that have been said to show such trends include complexity, size, fitness, and others. In my research, I have been developing operational measures of these features, devising methods for testing empirically whether trends have occurred, and studying the causes and correlates of trends. My major work so far has been on trends in complexity. I am also interested in: 1. The relationships among the various evolutionary forces acting on animal form -- functional, formal, and phylogenetic. 2. Theoretical aspects of animal psychology. 3. The philosophy of biology.

Areas of Interest:

evolution of complexity
macroevolution
paleobiology
proximate mechanisms of behavior/animal psychology
philosophy of biology

Keywords:

complexity • evolution • hierarchy

Current Ph.D. Students   (Former Students)

  • David McCandlish  
  • Kriti Sharma  
  • Travis Strong  
  • Edward Venit  
  • Charles Ciampaglio  
  • Phil Novack-Gottshall  
Postdocs Mentored

  • Carl Simpson (August, 2006 - present)  
  • Jon Marcot (July 1, 2003 - June 30, 2004)  
  • Carl Anderson (July 1, 2000 - June 30, 2001)  
Representative Publications   (More Publications)

  1. D.W. McShea, The evolution of complexity without natural selection (or, a possible large-scale trend of the fourth kind), Paleobiology, vol. 31 (Supplement) (2005), pp. 146-156
  2. D.W. McShea, A universal generative tendency toward increased organismal complexity, in Variation: A Central Concept in Biology, edited by B. Hallgrimsson and B. Hall (2005), pp. 435-453, Academic Press
  3. D.W. McShea and C. Anderson, The remodularization of the organism, in Modularity: Understanding the Development and Evolution of Natural Complex Systems, edited by W. Callebaut and D. Rasskin-Gutman (2005), pp. 185-206, The MIT Press
  4. L. Marino, D.W. McShea, and M.D. Uhen, Origin and evolution of large brains in toothed whales, Anatomical Record, vol. 281A (2004), pp. 1247-1255
  5. D.W. McShea and M.A. Changizi, Three puzzles in hierarchical evolution, Integrative and Comparative Biology, vol. 43 (2003), pp. 74-81
  6. D.W. McShea, A complexity drain on cells in the evolution of multicellularity, Evolution, vol. 56 no. 3 (2002), pp. 441-452
  7. D.W. McShea and E.P. Venit, Testing for bias in the evolution of coloniality: A demonstration in cyclostome bryozoans, Paleobiology, vol. 28 no. 3 (2002), pp. 308-327
  8. D.W. McShea, The "minor transitions" in hierarchial evolution and the question of directional bias, Journal of Evolutionary Biology, vol. 14 (2001), pp. 502-518
  9. D.W. McShea, The hierarchical structure of organisms: a scale and documentation of a trend in the maximum, Paleobiology, vol. 27 (2001), pp. 405-423
  10. Anderson, C and DW McShea, Individual versus social complexity, with particular reference to ant colonies, Biological Reviews (of the Cambridge Philosophical Society), vol. 76 (2001), pp. 211-237
  11. D.W. McShea and E.P. Venit, What is a part?, in The Character Concept in Evolutionary Biology, edited by G.P. Wagner (2001)
  12. D.W. McShea, Functional complexity in organisms: parts as proxies, Biology and Philosophy, vol. 15 (2000), pp. 641-668
  13. D.W. McShea, Feelings as the proximate cause of behavior, in Where Psychology Meets Biology: Philosophical Essays, edited by V.G. Hardcastle (1999), Cambridge University Press
  14. D.W. McShea, Possible largest-scale trends in organismal evolution: eight "live hypotheses", Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, vol. 29 (1998), pp. 293-318
Recent Grant Support

  • Universal principles of social and colonial organization, Cambridge Templeton Consortium, 2006/07-2008/06.