The ongoing climate change has put a spotlight on rapid evolutionary processes that could aid species adapt to new environments. However, many questions remain unanswered: What is the genetic architecture traits influencing fitness across environments? Is this genomic architecture predictable? Can we understand genetic constraints across multiple adaptive traits? How is genetic variation lost during extinction?

One of the core features of evolution is its uneven pace: whereas some traits and lineages appear relatively inert for millions of years, others diversify rapidly. What causes this disparity? To what extent are inferences about the pace of evolution influenced by the traits examined? Does stasis in one phenotypic dimension involve rapid evolution in another? I will address these questions by sharing discoveries made from the study of Caribbean anole lizards and Appalachian woodland salamanders.

Behavioral thermoregulation is an important defense against the negative impacts of climate change for many ectotherms. One such example is the fiddler crab Minuca pugnax, a species that occupies thermally unstable mudflat habitats, where it uses behavioral thermoregulation, including burrow retreats, to manage body temperature (Tb).

Dr. Brennan studies the functional morphology of genitalia in vertebrates to understand their complex evolution. She is interested in coevolution because the mechanical interaction of genitalia suggests that male and female must fit together to make copulation possible, however, her work has highlighted the gaps in our understanding of female genitalia. She has worked with birds, dolphins, bats, sharks, skates and more recently alpacas and snakes, discovering amazing adaptations in all these groups.