Dr Jack Da Silva

My research and teaching are focused on evolutionary genetics. Current topics of interest are:

Evolution of Body Size (life history)
Evolution of Sexes (anisogamy)
Evolution of Aging (senescence)
Evolution of Altruism (eusociality)

I approach these problems with a combination of phylogenetic comparative analyses and computer simulation. Please see my publications for recent examples.

Current projects include:

1. Life history optimisation and the evolution of body size in mammals. A combination of life history modelling and phylogenetic comparative analysis are used to test theories of how body size evolves in mammals.

2. Ancient dog breeds and an evolutionary lag in cancer suppression. The shorter life spans of larger dog breeds may be due to their greater cancer burdens. This hypothesis predicts that ancient breeds have evolved better cancer suppression and therefore longer lifespans and smaller litter sizes than modern breeds.

3. Monogamy and the evolution of eusociality in bees. The evolution of sterile workers in social insects by kin selection is hypothesised to require long term monogamy so that the genetic relatedness between workers and reproductives is maximal. This hypothesis is being tested by estimating evolutionary transition rates between mating systems, colony structures, and worker sterility using a recent large phylogeny of bees.

All projects are available for honours, masters, and doctorate study.