Rob Dunn
William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor
Senior Vice Provost for University Interdisciplinary Programs
Education
Ph.D., Ecology and Evolution, University of Connecticut (2003)
Research Interests
Most of the living world remains poorly or totally unknown. In my lab we study the species around us in our everyday lives, species we tend to think of us as well known. Most of those species are not well known and so there are many things to discover in your backyard, in your bedroom, or even on your roommate. Some days I work to study these species myself, bending down to figure out whether the fungus on my neighbor’s foot is a new species. More often I spent my time working with students and other researchers to help along their own discoveries. I also write about the world around us, which is a chance to share the stories of the scientists who have devoted their lives to understanding species, organs, cells, genes or ecosystems that influence us every day. In my building alone I am surrounded by biologists who study prairie voles, rare butterflies, fish ovaries, dinosaurs with long, long, claws, the decisions we make when threatened with death, alcoholic fruitflies, fungus farming beetles, and much, much more. It is a good job, this thing called science, silly at times, serious at others, but nearly always good.
Web Resources
Publications
- Hidden diversity: comparative functional morphology of humans and other species, PEERJ (2023)
- Nature's chefs: Uniting the hidden diversity of food making and preparing species across the tree of life, BIOSCIENCE (2023)
- Quantifying the human cost of global warming, NATURE SUSTAINABILITY (2023)
- Urban Jungle, SCIENCE (2023)
- Using FastID to analyze complex SNP mixtures from indoor dust, JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES (2023)
- Citizen Science as an Ecosystem of Engagement: Implications for Learning and Broadening Participation, BioScience (2022)
- Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test, SCIENCE (2022)
- Does childhood exposure to biodiverse greenspace reduce the risk of developing asthma?, SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT (2022)
- Ecological strategies of (pl)ants: Towards a world-wide worker economic spectrum for ants, FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY (2022)
- Flying insect biomass is negatively associated with urban cover in surrounding landscapes, DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS (2022)