Welcome

Welcome to the web page for the lab of Patrick A. Carter in the School of Biological Sciences at Washington State University.  Have fun looking around!

Research Interests

My research focuses on the evolution of the integrated phenotype. Using ideas and methods from evolutionary and quantitative genetics, physiological ecology, and comparative physiology, my lab group addresses questions on the evolution of function-valued traits, the correlated responses of multiple traits to selection, and the relative effects of selection and drift on trait evolution. Our goal is to provide a fundamentally deeper understanding of the evolution of the entire phenotype and of evolutionary processes.

Currently four major projects are being conducted:

o Development and application of function-valued trait methods to the evolution of complex traits.

o Evolution of growth curves in laboratory populations of flour beetles using a function-valued approach.

o Evolution of growth, body shape and swimming performance curves in domesticated populations of rainbow trout.

o Thermal and genetic effects on growth, body shape, muscle fibers, behavior, and swimming performance curves in domesticated populations of rainbow trout.