Erica Larson

Assistant Professor

Faculty

erica.larson@du.edu

303-871-3694 (Office)

http://www.larsonlab.space

Personal

Boettcher Center West, 2050 E. Iliff Ave. Denver, CO 80208

What I do

My lab studies how sexual selection and genomic conflict shape the evolution of reproduction, and how divergence in these key reproductive traits contribute to speciation.

Specialization(s)

evolutionary biology

Degree(s)

Ph.D., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, 2013
BS, Biology, Western Washington University, 2004

Professional Affiliations

Society for the Study of Evolution
Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution
American Genetics Association
American Society of Naturalists
Entomological Society of America

Research

In the Larson Lab, we want to understand the origins of species diversity and how evolutionary forces drive speciation. The evolution of reproductive traits is central to this process. Males and females interact in diverse ways, both before and after mating. They also interact at different organizational levels—as individuals, gametes, sex chromosomes, and genes that have evolved male and female-biased functions. The evolution of reproductive traits is at once cooperative and antagonistic. Individuals have to be able to reproduce, but males and females can have conflicting interests. We study how sexual selection and genomic conflict shape the evolution of reproduction, and how divergence in these key reproductive traits contribute to speciation.

Areas of Research

speciation

hybridization

sexual selection

sex chromosome evolution

population genetics and genomics

evolution of gene expression

Key Projects

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RoL: The evolution and maintenance of variable species boundaries
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Multimodal signaling in rhinoceros beetles
RCN-UBE Incubator: Enhancing Undergraduate Biology Education through

Google Scholar Profile

Featured Publications

Hunnicutt, K. E., Good, J. M., & Larson, E. L. (2022). Unraveling patterns of disrupted gene expression across a complex tissue. Evolution, 76(2), 275-291. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.14420

Larson, E. L., Kopania, E. E. .K., Hunnicutt, K. E., Vanderpool, D., Keeble, S., & Good, J. M. (2022). Stage-specific disruption of X chromosome expression during spermatogenesis in sterile house mouse hybrids. G3, 12(2), jka407. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1093/g3journal/jkab407

Larson, E. L., Brassil, M. M., Maslan, J., Juarez, D., Lilagan, F., Tipton, H., et al. (2019). The effects of heterospecific mating frequency on the strength of cryptic reproductive barriers. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 32(9), 900-912. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.13495

Taylor, S. A., & Larson, E. L. (2019). Insights from genomes into the evolutionary importance and prevalence of hybridization in nature. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 3, 170-177.

Larson, E. L., Vanderpool, D., Sarver, B. A. J., Callahan, C., Keeble, S., Provencio, L. P., et al. (2018). The evolution of polymorphic hybrid incompatibilities in house mice. Genetics, 209, 845–859.

Awards

Editor's Choice Award for Outstanding Population Genetic Article, Genetics
Provost’s Diversity Fellowship , Cornell University
American Association of University Women Fellowship, AAUW
Robert H. Whittaker Award for Outstanding Presentation , Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University
Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant , Agriculture & Life Sciences, Cornell University