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David Hembry
PhD Candidate
Department of Environmental Science,
Policy, and Management
University of California, Berkeley
137 Mulford Hall
Berkeley, California 94720
USA
hembry AT berkeley.edu
Beginning July 20th, 2007:
Gump South Pacific Research Station
University of California, Berkeley
BP 244, Maharepa, Mo'orea
French Polynesia
Atop Mt. Atara, Tahiti Iti, July 2006 Photo by Jean-Yves Meyer, Délégation à la Recherche, French Polynesia
I am a graduate student in Rosemary Gillespie and George Roderick's lab at the University of California, Berkeley. I am interested in evolutionary biology and the patterns and processes that generate and maintain biological diversity, particularly the interrelationship between coevolution and diversification. I am currently investigating the phylogenetics and ecology of a co-radiation of plants (Phyllanthaceae: Glochidion) and their obligate pollinating moths (Gracillariidae: Epicephala) across volcanic islands in eastern Polynesia.
Obligate pollination mutualisms such as that between Phyllanthaceae and Epicephala are ideal for studies of coevolution and diversification. In my dissertation research, I will be combining the advantages of working on a diverse mutualistic system with well-understood natural history which has recently diversified on oceanic islands in order to answer questions about the role of coevolution in generating biological diversity.