ROBERT COX

  • Assistant Professor of Biology
  • Email:    rmc3u@virginia.edu
  • Office:   (434) 982-1987
  • Office:   047 Gilmer Hall
  • Lab:       (434) 243-3399

Laboratory Website

EDUCATION

  • B.A., College of the Holy Cross, 1999
  • Ph.D., Rutgers University, 2005

RESEARCH INTERESTS

My research lies at the interface of two topics: (1) the evolutionary dynamics associated with the divergent reproductive roles of males and females, and (2) the ecological factors that shape natural selection on physiology, morphology, and life history. Current projects in my lab are addressing causes and consequences of sexual conflict, the evolutionary and endocrine basis of sexual dimorphism, and the physiological and ecological mechanisms that shape life-history trade-offs. All of these projects involve vertebrates (usually reptiles) and most combine both laboratory and field components, with an emphasis on experimental approaches. I conduct the field portions of these studies in diverse natural habitats ranging from eastern ponds and forests to the deserts and mountains of Arizona and the islands of the Bahamas. In any study, my overarching goal is to understand both how a particular phenomenon is regulated (physiology, genetics) and why it has evolved (ecology, evolution).

For more information on research interests, see my lab website.

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS

Cox, R.M., and R. Calsbeek. 2010. Cryptic sex-ratio bias provides indirect genetic benefits despite sexual conflict. Science 328: 92-94.

Cox, R.M., and R. Calsbeek. 2010. Severe costs of reproduction persist in Anolis lizards despite the evolution of a single-egg clutch. Evolution 64: 1321-1330.

Cox, R.M., and R. Calsbeek. 2009. Sexually antagonistic selection, sexual dimorphism, and the resolution of intralocus sexual conflict. American Naturalist 173: 176-187.

Cox, R.M., D.S. Stenquist, and R. Calsbeek. 2009. Testosterone, growth, and the evolution of sexual size dimorphism. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 22: 1586-1598.