Due to their known sequential geological formation, islands can be especially
informative systems to track evolutionary processes of diversification through time.
In multiple Galapagos lineages, these processes have left a signature in the form of
predictable patterns of phenotypic differentiation and community assembly over
time.

My research team has used a combination of species distributions, ecological and
phenotypic characterization, and genomic tools to reconstruct how and when
species have accumulated via speciation and colonization across the Galapagos
islands. We have found that lineages vary in the rate at which they accumulate
phenotypic and species diversity, and that these rates might change within a lineage
as species assemble into increasingly complex communities.
In this talk, I will present our latest results related to the diversification and
community assembly of terrestrial biota of the Galapagos Islands. Ultimately this
work represents a first critical step in understanding the process of community
assembly, and the influence of abiotic and biotic selection on the rate and trajectory
of phenotypic evolution in natural systems.