Ryan Hill
PhD, Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, 2008
MA, Zoology, University of Texas, Austin, 2003
BS, Biology, University of Oregon, 1997
WEBSITE
In my classes at University of the Pacific I strive to give students skills and experience in addition to class content. Students gain hand skills by sampling and collecting data, working with specimens and doing dissections. They gain computer skills analyzing class collected data with Excel and R. Field trips give students outdoor, camping and data collection experience while exposing them to California's landscapes and biodiversity.
I am also working to facilitate student internship opportunities for students to gain experience in biological and environmental projects in the greater Bay Area region. Contact me to find out what opportunities may be currently available.
My research program focuses on evolutionary ecology of butterflies and seeks to understand patterns and processes of biological diversification. I have focused my research on butterflies because of their rich and well-known natural history and wonderful examples of warning coloration and mimicry, traits shaped by natural selection. My students and I study both immature and adult stages in the lab and field to obtain a holistic perspective on ecology and evolution.
Since arriving at the University of the Pacific I have expanded my research from Neotropical groups (Ithomiinii and Heliconius) to include investigations of mimicry in species of North America, and genetic and ecological work focused on west coast species of conservation concern. These projects are giving my students many research opportunities locally in California and in the Neotropics. We have received funding to work on two different groups: Speyeria butterflies, and limenitidine (Adelpha and Limenitis) butterflies in western North America. Please see my website for more details on these projects.
I welcome inquiries from students interested in pursuing undergraduate or graduate research in my lab.
