Paul Dunlap, Ph.D.

My research group studies the evolutionary ecology of specific pairwise mutualisms between marine vertebrates and light-emitting marine bacteria. We are interested primarily in: (1) the genetic, developmental, and ecological processes and mechanisms involved in symbiont acquisition and specificity; (2) the evolutionary processes and biological consequences of host – symbiont genetic integration; and (3) the influence of symbiosis in shaping the population genetic structure of host and symbiont. Our work is necessarily interdisciplinary and uses concepts and methods from molecular genetics, microbiology, genomics, population genetics, developmental biology, phylogenetics, ichthyology, mariculture, morphology, behavior, and ecology in a combination of laboratory, computer-based, and field research studies. Our laboratory and computer-based work is carried out primarily at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Field study sites for current research projects include the coral reefs of Okinawa and near-shore and deep-sea habitats of Suruga Bay.