I am interested in the evolution and development of flowers and the features they have that attract pollinating animals.
Research Area
My research group is interested in the evolution and development of flowers, and particularly of floral traits that are important in attracting animal pollinators.
By understanding how plants build traits that attract particular animals we aim to understand the diversification of the flowering plants. We are particularly interested in petal characters such as colour, texture and insect-mimicking spots as these are important in attracting pollinators and helping them to handle the flower. We use molecular genetic, evolutionary and developmental techniques to address these questions in our lab, including use of cutting edge microscopy and imaging techniques, Our lab incorporates a bee behavioural facility so that we can explore pollinator responses in a controlled environment, but we also use outdoor field plots at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden and traditional fieldwork to explore pollinator behaviour in real world settings.
Understanding plant-pollinator interactions in this integrated way provides us with tools to contribute to the design of strategies to protect biodiversity of plants and animals. It also allows us to engage with plant breeders to optimize pollinator attraction and ensure crop security.
Project Interests
I am keen to develop a project on either nectar spurs or sexually deceptive petal spots.
Nectar spurs are petal outgrowths that hold nectar. They restrict access to the floral reward so that only animals with a long enough proboscis can pollinate the flower. We will explore how nectar spurs are built, and how interspecific variation in spur length is controlled.
We are working on a South African daisy that produces petal spots that mimic pollinating flies. We will explore how these spots develop, how their position in the petal is controlled, and how their intraspecific variation influences pollinator behaviour.
