|
|
Welcome to the Jones Lab website
|
To return to the TAMU department of biology website click here
|
|
People
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Adam Jones, PI
email: agjones@tamu.edu
|
|
|
|
|
|
Charlyn Partridge, Ph.D. Student
email: cpartridge@bio.tamu.edu
webpage
|
Kim Paczolt, Ph.D Student
email: kpaczolt@bio.tamu.edu
webpage
|
Nick Ratterman, Ph.D. Student
email: nickratterman@tamu.edu
webpage
|
|
|
|
|
Clay Small, Ph.D. Student
email: csmall@bio.tamu.edu
webpage
|
Sunny Scobell, Ph.D. Student
email: sscobell@bio.tamu.edu
webpage
|
Muhammad Arian, Undergraduate Researcher
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
Randall Carter, Undergraduate Researcher
|
Sarah Gaugan, Undergraduate Researcher
|
Danielle Shroeder, Undergraduate Researcher
|
|
|
Nathan Jones and his seahorse piñata
|
Does our lab have more fun than your lab?
Click here for pictures of our lab, our research and us goofing off.
We also have an awesome pipefish mating video here.
|
| Research |
|
|
Evolutionary Genetics of Pipefishes and Seahorses. The fish family Syngnathidae includes over 200 species of pipefishes, seahorses and sea dragons, and all of them are characterized by male pregnancy. The female transfers unfertilized eggs to the ventral surface of the male, where the male fertilizes them. The male then carries his developing offspring until they are born as miniature versions of the adults. We are taking advantage of this interesting phenomenon to pursue two major research interests in the lab.
(1) We are interested in using these species to understand the evolution of mating behavior and to test predictions of sexual selection theory.
(2) We are exploring the phenomenon of male pregnancy as a model for the evolution of novel traits. How did this unique behavior and its associated structures orginate?
Click here to learn more about seahorse and pipefish evolution at the Jones Lab.
Click here to view a bibliography of pipefishes and seahorses.
|
|
|
|
Parentage Analysis. Molecular techniques have revolutionized the study of mating behavior in nature and the lab. We use microsatellite markers to infer patterns of parentage in natural and experimental populations of various organisms. Most of this work is concerned with the process of sexual selection and mating system evolution.
Click here to learn more about parentage analysis at the Jones Lab.
We also develop software for the analysis of parentage data. These programs reconstruct parental genotypes from genetic data on groups of related progeny.
Download GERUD1.0 and GERUD2.0 here.
|
|
Theory in Vienna (R. Bürger, S. Estes and A. Jones)
|
Quantitative Genetics. We are interested in the contribution of various microevolutionary processes, such as genetic drift, migration, and selection, to the evolution of the phenotype. Many of the most interesting phenotypic traits are quantitative traits, which are specified by multiple loci and environmental effects.
In collaboration with Reinhard Bürger and Stevan Arnold, we have been using simulation models to address several theoretical issues related to the evolution of a phenotype comprising multiple complex traits.
Click here to learn more about quantitative genetics at the Jones Lab.
|
|
Banggai Cardinalfish (photo by N. Kolm)
|
Miscellaneous Evolutionary Biology. In addition to the topics mentioned above, the members of the Jones lab use molecular tools and theoretical approaches to address other interesting issues in molecular evolution, sexual selection, conservation genetics, and other important topics related to ecology and evolution.
Click here to learn more about miscellaneous evolutionary biology in the Jones Lab.
|
