THE WHITEMAN LABORATORY
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Nicolas Alexandre
PhD Student

Graduate Research Department of Integrative Biology
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology
Department of Computational Biology
University of California, Berkeley
Valley Life Sciences Building #4095
Email: nalexandre@berkeley.edu
Twitter: ​https://twitter.com/nicmalexandre
Hummingnerd T-shirts: 
​https://teespring.com/stores/hummingnerd-store
Picture

Research

My research focuses on understanding the how evolution shapes ecology using a variety of techniques ranging from population/quantitative genetics, niche modelling, phylogenetics, and genome architecture in order to link phenotypic variation (P) with genotypic variation (G) and fitness (F) in wild populations of hummingbirds.

​I am particularly interested in the evolution of complex, quantitative traits. The bills of hummingbirds represent an excellent model for studying adaptive evolution in quantitative traits given their widespread distribution and feasible collection, and recently available genomic resources. One method I use to characterize the genomic architecture of phenotypic variation 
between species is to leverage phenotypic variation within species. Then, through fine-mapping of natural genome-wide variation, I am localizing putatively causal loci segregating as polymorphisms (SNPs or structural variants) that underlie phenotypic variation for bill shape.
​Heritable variation for beak shape has been leveraged to identify loci in various passerines such as Darwin’s finches, great tits, and bullfinches. My primary reseearch focuses on developing the Broad-tailed hummingbird (BTH; Selasphorus platycercus) as a model system as a candidate lineage in which to explore the genetic architecture of bill shape. However, I work with various species in the Americas (See Below).

Publications

Alexandre, N. M., Parris T. Humphrey, A.D. Gloss, J. Lee, H.A. Affeldt, J. Frazier, K. Miazgowicz, A.C. Nelson Dittrich & N.K. Whiteman. “accepted, Ecosphere”. “Habitat preference of an herbivore shapes the habitat distribution of its host plant.”

Humphrey, P.T., A.D. Gloss, N.M. Alexandre, M.M. Villalobos, S.C. Groen, M. Fremgen, L.N. Meihls, G. Jander & N.K. Whiteman (2016) Aversion and attraction to harmful plant secondary compounds jointly shape the foraging ecology of a specialist herbivore. “accepted, Ecology and Evolution”. Volume 6, Issue 10. May 2016. Pages 3256–3268
 
​Yule, K.M., J.A.H. Koop, N.M. Alexandre, L.R. Johnston & N.K. Whiteman (2016) Population genetic structure of a vector-borne plant parasite. “accepted, Molecular Ecology” Volume 25, Issue 14. July 2016. Pages 3332–3343
 
Simon C. Groen, Erika R. LaPlante, Nicolas Alexandre, Joseph Hernandez, Anurag A. Agrawal, Susanne Dobler, Noah K. Whiteman (2016) Multidrug transporters and organic anion transporter polypeptides protect insects against the toxic effects of cardenolides. “accepted, Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology”.
Picture
The Whiteman Lab | Integrative Biology | University of California | Berkeley, CA 94720

Photographs are copyright protected by Noah Whiteman, Whiteman lab members, or were obtained through Creative Commons licenses.
  • Home
  • Group Members
    • Principal Investigator, Dr. Noah Whiteman
    • Research Specialist Susan Bernstein
    • Postdoctoral Researchers and Research Associates >
      • Dr. Samridhi Chaturvedi
      • Dr. Moe Bakhtiari
      • Dr. Benjamin Goldman-Huertas
      • Dr. Carolina Reisenman
    • Graduate Students >
      • Jessica Aguilar
      • Nicolas Alexandre
      • Diler Haji
      • Julianne Pelaez
      • Hiromu Suzuki
      • Rebecca Tarnopol
      • Kirsten Isabel Verster
    • Undergraduate Students >
      • Saron Akalu
      • Jaden Ha
      • Selah-Marie Grogan
      • Gillian Oaks
      • Ashleigh Takemoto
      • Jossie Tamsil
    • Former members >
      • Eric Rogers
      • Ted Chor
      • Dr. Teruyuki Matsanaga
      • Anna Pham
      • Anna Leipertz
      • Michael Astourian
      • Ashley Bendl
      • Elizabeth Ordeman
      • Bridget Cheng
      • Irene Liang
      • Gillian Montross
      • Esteban Rodas
      • Giovani Pimentel-Solorio
      • Faye Romero
      • Marissa Sandoval
      • Shivani Sundaram
      • Kannagi Yashroy
      • Derrick Yip
      • Haarini Sridhar
      • Sneha Agrawal
      • Dr. Marianna Karageorgi
      • Kevin Miao
      • Dr. Rebecca Duncan
      • Kelly D'Ambrogia
      • Jiarui Wang
      • Tim O'Connor
      • Judith Okoro
      • William Farley
      • Dr. Cathy Rushworth
      • Andy Gloss
      • Alana Augur
      • Hoon Pyon
      • Julianne Ray
      • Dr. Simon "Niels" Groen
      • Dr. David Hembry (PERT Postdoctoral Fellow)
      • Dr. Jennifer Koop (PERT Postdoctoral Fellow)
      • Dr. Anna Nelson Dittrich (PERT Postdoctoral Fellow)
      • Dr. Rick Lapoint (PERT Postdoctoral Fellow)
      • Dr. Paul Nabity (USDA-NIFA Postdoctoral Fellow)
      • Christina Meyer
      • Parris Humphrey
      • Lea Flechon
      • Research Specialist, Tim Rast
      • Amir Abidov
      • Allan Castillo
      • Matt Cravens
      • Mitchell Feldmann
      • Jason Giles
      • Lauren Johnston
      • Noel Kitchen
      • Erika LaPlante
      • Matthew J. Velasquez
    • Internal page >
      • Protocols
      • Recommended Reading
  • Research
  • Publications
  • DEI
    • #leadership
    • #participation
    • #recruitment
    • #belonging
    • #accountability
  • Join
  • Contact
  • "Monarch Fly"