Dr. Carrie Wu
Assistant Professor of Biology
A-114 Gottwald Science Center
Office: (804) 289-8004
Fax: (804) 289-8233
Teaching:
Evolution
Research:
My research investigates the mechanisms of adaptive differentiation and speciation. I am especially interested in how plants respond to their local environments, and the role those adaptations play in diversification at the genomic, population, and species levels. While evidence for local adaptation in plants is abundant, much less is known about the particular traits and genes that confer this specialization to specific environments. To this end, my research uses the wildflower genera Ipomopsis and Mimulus to examine how environmental variation influences phenotypic and genetic variation among natural plant populations. I combine observations of natural populations and experimental manipulations in the field and greenhouse with tools from quantitative genetics and physiological ecology. My projects take me to field sites in the northern Cascades in Washington, down through the Southern California foothills, and eastward to the Colorado rockies. Together, these studies provide insight into how environmental stresses, adaptation to these conditions, and evolutionary change are intertwined, using tractable, ecologically relevant systems.
Education:
Ph.D., University of California, Irvine
B.S., Harvey Mudd College
Selected Publications:
Wu CA, DB Lowry, LI Nutter*, and JH Willis. In press. Natural variation for drought response traits across the Mimulus guttatus species complex.
*undergraduate student coauthor.
Campbell DR, NM Waser, GA Aldridge, and CA Wu. 2008. Lifetime fitness in two generations of Ipomopsis hybrids. Evolution 62: 2616-2627.
Lowry DB, JL Modliszewski, KM Wright, CA Wu, and JH Willis. 2008. The strength and genetic basis of reproductive isolating barriers in plants. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 363: 3009-3021.
Wu CA, DB Lowry, AM Cooley, KM Wright, YW Lee, and JH Willis. 2008. Mimulus is an emerging model system for the integration of ecological and genomic studies. Heredity 100: 220-230.
Wu CA and DR Campbell. 2006. Environmental stressors differentially affect leaf ecophysiological responses in two Ipomopsis species and their hybrids. Oecologia 148: 202-212.
Wu CA and DR Campbell. 2005. Cytoplasmic and nuclear markers reveal contrasting patterns of spatial genetic structure in a natural Ipomopsis hybrid zone. Molecular Ecology 14:781-792.
