| Jeffrey K. Conner |
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Professor of Plant Biology
Ph. D. Cornell University 1988 W. K. Kellogg Biological Station
Research Interests 
Members of my lab group conduct studies integrating ecology, evolution, behavior, and genetics. Our goal is to attack problems at the interface of these areas in novel ways. Currently most of these studies deal with plant-insect interactions, especially pollination. I am interested in understanding the processes by which natural and sexual selection in plants and insects produces adaptation to a variable environment; to this end we measure the strength of selection acting in present-day populations and combine this with genetic work to predict short-term evolutionary change. A closely related interest is how different traits evolve to work together as an adaptively integrated unit; the model system we use for this work is the evolution of flower size and shape. I am also interested in the application of these basic concepts to environmental problems, including invasive species, biological control, ecological effects of transgene escape, global climate change, and conservation genetics. 
Our research combines laboratory, greenhouse and field work, and includes quantitative and molecular genetic studies of adaptive traits, artificial selection to re-create ancestral floral traits, field measurements of fitness, including molecular genetic determination of paternity, and pollination ecology, including pollinator observations and measurements of pollen removed and deposited by insects. Students in my lab can choose to do research in any area of plant-insect interactions, evolutionary ecology, behavioral ecology, conservation biology, and/or ecological genetics. Topics of current and recent student projects include phenotypic plasticity and genotype-environment interaction in a wildflower, allocation of energy to male vs. female reproduction in hermaphroditic plants, mate choice in spadefoot toads, and effects of increased UV-B radiation on fitness in plants. Selected Publications Conner, J.K., Sahli, H.F., and Karoly, K. 2009. Tests of adaptation: functional studies of pollen removal and estimates of natural selection on anther position in wild radish. In press, Annals of Botany (invited, peer-reviewed Special Feature). Sahli, H.F., J.K. Conner, F.H. Shaw, S. Howe, and A. Lale. 2008. Adaptive differentiation of quantitative traits in the globally distributed weed, wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum). Genetics 180: 945-955. Franks, S.J., J.C. Avise, W.E. Bradshaw, J. K. Conner, J.R. Etterson, S.J. Mazer, R.G. Shaw and A.E. Weis. 2008. The resurrection initiative: storing ancestral genotypes to capture evolution in action. BioScience 58: 870-873. (Featured at ABCnews.com). Roles, A.J., and J.K.Conner. 2008. Fitness effects of mutation accumulation in a natural outbred population of wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum): comparison of field and greenhouse environments. Evolution 62: 1066-1075. Duffy, M.A., C.E. Brassil, S.R. Hall, A.J. Tessier, C.E. Caceres, and J.K. Conner. 2008. Parasite-mediated disruptive selection in a natural Daphnia population. BMC Evolutionary Biology 8: 80. Knapczyk, F.N. and J.K. Conner. 2007. Estimates of the average strength of natural selection are not inflated by sampling error or publication bias. American Naturalist 170: 501-508. (lead article) Conner, J.K. 2006. Ecological genetics of floral evolution. In: Harder, L. D. and Barrett, S.C.H. The Ecology and Evolution of Flowers. Oxford University Press. Sahli, H. and J.K. Conner. 2006. Characterizing ecological generalization in plant-pollination systems. Oecologia 148: 365-372. Strauss, S. Y., H. Sahli, and J.K. Conner. 2005. Toward a more trait-centered approach to diffuse (co)evolution. New Phytologist 165: 81–90 (invited, peer reviewed, for special edition). Conner, J.K. and A.A. Agrawal. 2005. Mechanisms of constraints: The contributions of selection and genetic variance to the maintenance of cotyledon number in wild radish. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 18: 238-242. PDF Strauss, S.Y., H. Sahli, and J.K. Conner. 2005. Toward a more trait-centered approach to diffuse (co)evolution: New criteria for its detection. New Phytologist 165: 81-90. PDF (invited, peer reviewed, for special edition) Conner, J.K. 2004. A Primer of Ecological Genetics. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA. Agrawal, A.A., J.K. Conner, and J.R. Stinchcombe. 2004. Evolution of plant resistance and tolerance to frost damage. Ecology Letters 7: 199-1208. PDF Conner, J.K. 2003. Artifical selection: a powerful tool for ecologists. Ecology 84: 1650-1660. PDF Conner, J.K., A.M. Rice, C.Stewart, and M.T. Morgan. 2003. Patterns and mechanisms of selection on a family-diagnostic trait: evidence from experimental manipulation and lifetime fitness selection gradients. Evolution 57: 480-486. PDF Conner, J.K., R. Franks, and C. Stewart. 2003. Expression of additive genetic variances and covariances for wild radish floral traits: Comparison between field and greenhouse environments. Evolution 57: 487-495. PDF Conner, J.K. 2002. Genetic mechanisms of floral trait correlations in a natural population. Nature 420: 407-410. PDF; Data Agrawal, A.A., J.K. Conner, M.T. Johnson, and R. Wallsgrove. 2002. Ecological genetics of induced plant defense against herbivores in wild radish. Evolution 56: 2206-2213. PDF Strauss, S.Y., J.K. Conner, and K.P. Lehtila. 2001. Effects of foliar herbivory by insects on the fitness of Raphanus raphanistrum: damage can increase male fitness. American Naturalist 158: 496-504. PDF Williams, J.L. and J.K. Conner. 2001. Sources of phenotypic variation in floral traits in wild radish, Raphanus raphanistrum (Brassicaceae). American Journal of Botany. 88: 1577-1581. PDF (Cover photo, Sept. 2002) Conner, J.K. 2001. How strong is natural selection? Trends in Ecology and Evolution 16:215-217. PDF with permission from Elsevier Science. Morgan, M.T., and J.K. Conner. 2001. Using genetic markers to directly estimate male selection gradients. Evolution 55:272-281. PDF Karoly, K. and J. K. Conner. 2000. Heritable variation in an family-diagnostic trait. Evolution 54:1433-1438. PDF Conner, J. K. 1997. Floral evolution in wild radish: the roles of pollinators, natural selection, and genetic correlations among traits. International Journal of Plant Sciences 158: S108-S120. PDF Conner, J. K., S. Rush, S. Kercher, and P. Jennetten. 1996. Measurements of natural selection on floral traits in wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum). II. Selection through lifetime male and total fitness. Evolution 50:1137-1146. PDF Conner, J. K., S. Rush, and P. Jennetten. 1996. Measurements of natural selection on floral traits in wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum). I. Selection through lifetime female fitness. Evolution 50:1127-1136. PDF Strauss, S. Y., J.K. Conner, and S. L. Rush. 1996. Foliar herbivory affects floral characters and plant attractiveness to pollinators: implications for male and female plant fitness. American Naturalist 147: 1098-1107. PDF Eisner, T., I. T. Baldwin, and J. Conner. 1993. Circumvention of prey defense by a predator: Ant lion vs ant. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90: 6716-6720. PDF Conner, J. and S. Via. 1993. Patterns of phenotypic and genetic correlations among morphological and life history traits in wild radish, Raphanus raphanistrum. Evolution 47: 704-711. PDF; Data Conner, J. 1989. Density-dependent sexual selection in the fungus beetle, Bolitotherus cornutus. Evolution 43: 1378-1386. PDF Conner, J. 1989. Older males have higher insemination success in a beetle. Anim. Behav. 38: 503-509. Conner, J. 1988. Field measurements of natural and sexual selection in the fungus beetle, Bolitotherus cornutus. Evolution 42: 736-749. PDF Single copies of the PDF files can be downloaded and printed for the reader's personal research and study.  Conner, J.K. and D.L. Hartl. A Primer of Ecological Genetics. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA.
"Your new Primer of Ecological Genetics is absolutely terrific, and I plan on making it required reading for graduate students in my lab and for other graduate students on whose committees I serve. Your book is bound to go a long way in clearing up fuzzy thinking about basic concepts at the interface of evolution and ecology. Just as importantly, I think your book will result in much better experimental design -- and much clearer discussion of results -- in future dissertations and the papers that result from them." ~John N. Thompson, University of California at Santa Cruz |