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Dr. Alex Badyaev, Associate Professor

Positions and Education
Associate Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, 2007- present
Assistant Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, 2002-2007
Postdoctoral Fellow, College of Science and Mathematics, Auburn University, 2000-2002
Ph.D., Organismal Biology and Ecology, University of Montana, 1999
M.S., Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, 1994
M.S., Comp. Anatomy & Pop. Ecology, Moscow State University, Russia, 1992
B.S., Biology; Mathematical Biology, Moscow State University, Russia, 1989
Honors and Awards

"" Distinguished Early-Career Teaching Award, College of Science, University of Arizona, 2007
David and Lucile Packard Foundation Fellow in Science & Engineering, 2005-2010
"" Director, Cooper Ornithological Society, 2006-2009
NSF CAREER, 2005-2010
John Maynard Smith Prize, European Society for Evolutionary Biology, 2001
Dobzhansky Prize, International Society for the Study of Evolution, 2001
Elective Member of the American Ornithologists' Union, 2003
"" Associate Editor, Evolution, 2006-pres.
Associate Editor, Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 2004-2007
Associate Editor, Functional Ecology, 2004-2008
Board of Editors, Year in Evolutionary Biology, 2007-pres.
Associate Editor, Evolutionary Ecology, 2003-pres.
Advisory Board, Philosophy & Theory in Biology, 2008-pres.


Research Interests

Alex Badyaev’s research focus is at the interface of evolutionary developmental biology, evolutionary theory, and ecology, with specific focus on the understanding of the origin of adaptations.

The unified theme of his work is the construction of a testable evolutionary framework that reconciles environmental contingency with evolutionary diversity in organismal forms, with the ultimate goal to establish explicit connection between the causes of within-generation developmental variation and the causes of among-generation and among-taxa change.

Under this general umbrella, Badyaev lab studies the following empirical themes: 1) Origin, development, and evolution of animal color diversity, 2) Epigenetic remodeling and genetic adaptation in ontogeny of skeletal structures, 3) Maternal effects and maternal inheritance, 4) Role of stress in origin and diversification of organismal forms, 5) Evolution of behavioral and life history strategies, and 6) Evolution and ecology of sexual size dimorphism.

Visit Alex Badyaev's web pages

Read a profile of Alex Badyaev in the Spring 2003 issue of Desert News & Views (pdf file)

Selected Publications
  1. Badyaev, A.V. 2008. Maternal effects as generators of evolutionary change: A reassessment. Pp: 151-161 In The Year in Evolutionary Biology 2008. C. D. Schlichting and T. A. Mousseau, Eds. Wiley-Blackwell.

  2. Badyaev, A.V., R. L. Young, K. P. Oh, and C. Addison. 2008. Evolution on a local scale: Developmental, functional, and genetic bases of divergence in bill form and associated changes in song structure between adjacent habitats. Evolution 62: 1951-1964.

  3. Badyaev, A.V., et. al. 2008. Evolution of sex-biased maternal effects: IV. Intra-ovarian growth dynamics links sex-determination and sex-specific acquisition of resources. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 21: 449–460.

  4. Badyaev, A.V. 2008. Evolution despite natural selection? Emergence theory and the ever elusive link between adaptation and adaptability. Acta Biotheoretica 56: 249-255.

  5. Oh, K.P. and A.V. Badyaev. 2008. Evolution of adaptation and mate choice: Parental relatedness affects expression of phenotypic and genetic variance in a natural population. Evolutionary Biology 35: 111-124.

  6. Badyaev, A.V. and K. P. Oh. 2008. Environmental induction and phenotypic retention of adaptive maternal effects. BMC Evolutionary Biology 8:3.

  7. Rutkowska, J. and A.V. Badyaev. 2008. Meiotic drive and sex determination: Molecular and cytological mechanisms of sex ratio adjustment in birds. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 363: 1675-1686.

  8. Badyaev, A.V. 2007. Evolvability and robustness in color displays: Bridging the gap between theory and data. Evolutionary Biology 34: 61-71.

  9. Badyaev, A.V. and E. A. Landeen. 2007. Developmental evolution of sexual ornamentation: Model and a test of feather growth and pigmentation. Integrative and Comparative Biology 47: 221-233.

  10. Young, R. L. and A.V. Badyaev. 2007. Evolution of ontogeny: linking epigenetic remodeling and genetic adaptation in skeletal structures. Integrative and Comparative Biology 47: 234-244.

  11. Duckworth, R.A. and A.V. Badyaev. 2007. Coupling of dispersal and aggression facilitates the rapid range expansion of a passerine bird. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States 104: 15017-15022.

  12. Badyaev, A.V. and C. M. Vleck. 2007. Context-dependent ontogeny of sexual ornamentation and a trade-off between current and future breeding efforts. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 20: 1277–1287.

  13. Young, R. L., T.S. Haselkorn, and A.V. Badyaev. 2007. Functional equivalence of morphologies enables morphological and ecological diversity. Evolution 61: 2480–2492.

  14. Badyaev, A.V., et. al. 2006. Sex-biased maternal effects reduce ectoparasite-induced mortality in a passerine bird. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States 103: 14406-14411.

  15. Badyaev, A.V. 2006. Colorful phenotypes of colorless genotypes: Towards a new evolutionary synthesis of animal color displays. Pp. 349-379 In Avian Coloration: Function & Evolution. Harvard Univ. Press.

  16. Young, R.L., and A.V. Badyaev. 2006. Evolutionary persistence of phenotypic integration: Influence of developmental and functional relationships on evolution of a complex trait. Evolution 60: 1291–1299.

  17. Badyaev, A.V., et al. 2006. Evolution of sex-biased maternal effects in birds: III. Adjustment of ovulation order enables sex-specific allocation of hormones, carotenoids, and vitamins. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 19: 1044-1057.

  18. Oh, K.P. and A.V. Badyaev. 2006. Adaptive genetic complementarity in mate choice coexists with preference for elaborate sexual traits. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B: Biological Sciences 273: 1913-1919.

  19. Badyaev, A.V., et. al. 2006. Evolution of sex-biased maternal effects in birds: II. Contrasting sex-specific oocyte competition in native and recently established populations. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 19: 909-921.

  20. Badyaev, A.V. 2005. Stress-induced variation in evolution: from behavioral plasticity to genetic assimilation. Proceedings of Royal Society, Biological Sciences. Lond. 272: 877-886.

  21. Badyaev, A.V. and R.A. Duckworth. 2005. Evolution of plasticity in hormonally-integrated parental tactics Pp. 375-386. In Functional Endocrinology (eds. A. Dawson & P. J. Sharp). Narosa Publishing House.

  22. Badyaev, A.V. 2005. Maternal inheritance and rapid evolution of sexual size dimorphism: Passive effects or active strategies? American Naturalist 166: 16-30.

  23. Badyaev, A.V., K.R. Foresman & R.L. Young. 2005. Evolution of morphological integration: II. Developmental accommodation of stress-induced variation. American Naturalist 166: 382-395.

  24. Badyaev, A.V., et al. 2005. Adaptive sex differences in growth of pre-ovulation oocytes in a passerine bird. Proceedings of Royal Society, Biological Sciences. Lond. 272: 2165-2172.

  25. Badyaev, A.V. 2005. Role of stress in evolution: From individual adaptability to evolutionary adaptation. Pages 277-302 in Variation: A Central Concept in Biology. Elsevier Academic Press.

  26. Badyaev, A.V. 2004. Integration and modularity in the evolution of sexual ornaments: An overlooked perspective. Pp. 50-79. In Phenotypic Integration: Studying the Ecology and Evolution of Complex Phenotypes. Oxford Univ. Press.

  27. Badyaev, A.V. and K. R. Foresman. 2004. Evolution of morphological integration: I. Functional units channel stress-induced variation. American Naturalist 163: 868-879.

  28. Badyaev, A.V. 2004. Developmental perspective on the evolution of sexual ornaments. Evolutionary Ecology Research 6: 975-991.

  29. Badyaev, A.V., et al. 2003. The evolution of sexual size dimorphism in the house finch. V. Maternal effects. Evolution 57: 384-396

  30. Badyaev, A.V., et al.  2002. Sex-biased hatching order and adaptive population divergence in a passerine bird. Science 295: 316-318.
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