385: Susan Finkbeiner | Butterfly Mimicry, Convergent Evolution, And More With The Scientific Model

Dr. Susan Finkbeiner is a lecturer of Biology at California State University of Long Beach, as well as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Chicago. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Entomology from Cornell University, and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of California, and joins me on episode 385 of the show, where we discuss much about butterflies, including types of mimicry, mating, dimorphism, scent, her Costa Rica study abroad efforts, convergent evolution, as well as some life messages, modeling, and Midwest qualities.

Her research involves a comprehensive analysis of the evolutionary mechanisms underlying adaptive phenotypic variation across a rapidly diversifying lineage of butterflies, with the central goal of understanding the ecological and evolutionary processes that shape temporal and spatial patterns of biodiversity.

Her previous research at UC-Irvine focused on how natural and sexual selection work together to favor the evolution of specific animal phenotypes, how aposematic signaling may drive the evolution of social behavior in the context of visual ecology, and how specialized visual systems coevolve with specialized visual cues.

Susan has worked with tropical Adelpha butterflies and temperate Limenitis butterflies. As well, her previous research has used neotropical Heliconius butterflies (known as the passion-vine butterflies) to examine how natural and sexual selection work together to favor the evolution of specific animal phenotypes, how warning signaling may drive the evolution of social behavior in the context of visual ecology, and how specialized visual systems co-evolve with specialized visual cues.