One aim of evolutionary biology is to understand how the relationship between genotypic and phenotypic variation affects trait evolution. The pathway from genotype to fitness is complex; genotypic variation is expressed through development and physiology, which generates and structures phenotypic variation. This phenotypic variation in turn produces variation in performance, ultimately leading to variation in fitness. In my research program, I have studied each step along this pathway, often layering comparative, quantitative genetic, phenotypic engineering, or genetic approaches to address a particular set of questions. The ultimate aim, of course, is to understand how relationships between each step from genotypic variation to fitness shapes trait evolution.

My current research interests revolve around elucidation of the intrinsic and external forces that shape the evolution of complex traits, focusing primarily on the evolution of morphology in holometabolous insects. During my graduate work, I studied the evolution of life histories and the evolution and maintenance of polyphenisms.

Research Program Reviews

Frankino, W. A. Experimental approaches to studying the evolution of morphological allometries: The shape of things to come. Invited submission in: Experimental Evolution: Concepts, Methods, and Applications, T. Garland and M. Rose, eds. University of California Press. (in prep)

 P.M. Brakefield and W. A. Frankino. 2006. Polyphenisms in Lepidoptera: Multidisciplinary approaches to studies of evolution and development. in: Phenotypic Plasticity in Insects: Mechanisms and Consequences. Ananthakrishnan, TN and D. W. Whitman (Eds.). Oxford University Press. (in press)

Frankino, W. A., R. A. Raff. 2004. Evolutionary importance and pattern of phenotypic plasticity: Insights gained from development. Pp 64-81 in: Phenotypic Plasticity, Functional and Conceptual Approaches. T. J. DeWitt and S. M. Scheiner, eds. Oxford University Press.