Research Description
Systematics, speciation, insect-plant coevolution
Berlocher is interested in insect-plant coevolution and the effect it has on insect systematics. His research concentrates on the fruit flies of the family Tephritidae (Diptera), particularly the economically important genus Rhagoletis. In an effort to understand speciation and host race formation in these flies, he has used behavioral, chromosomal, ecological, and genetic approaches. He has made much use of the technique of gel electrophoresis of enzymes to study the genetic differentiation of populations. His interests in addition to Rhagoletis include coevolution between the Tephritidae and the Compositae, insect biogeography, and the general use of biochemical methods in insect systematics.
Education
PhD, 1976, University of Texas
Additional Campus Affiliations
Professor Emeritus, Entomology
Recent Publications
Calvert, M. B., Doellman, M. M., Feder, J. L., Hood, G. R., Meyers, P., Egan, S. P., Powell, T. H. Q., Glover, M. M., Tait, C., Schuler, H., Berlocher, S. H., Smith, J. J., Nosil, P., Hahn, D. A., & Ragland, G. J. (2022). Genomically correlated trait combinations and antagonistic selection contributing to counterintuitive genetic patterns of adaptive diapause divergence in Rhagoletis flies. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 35(1), 146-163. https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.13952
Dean, C. A. E., Easley, J., Katz, A. D., Berlocher, S. H., & Berenbaum, M. R. (2022). Genetic Structure and Colonization of North America by Depressaria depressana (Fabricius 1775) (Lepidoptera: Depressariidae) over 15 Years; Contrasts with Westward Expansion of Depressaria radiella (Goeze, 1783) over 160 Years. Insects, 13(9), Article 789. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13090789
Inskeep, K. A., Doellman, M. M., Powell, T. H. Q., Berlocher, S. H., Seifert, N. R., Hood, G. R., Ragland, G. J., Meyers, P. J., & Feder, J. L. (2022). Divergent diapause life history timing drives both allochronic speciation and reticulate hybridization in an adaptive radiation of Rhagoletis flies. Molecular ecology, 31(15), 4031-4049. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.15908
Powell, T. H. Q., Hood, G. R., Doellman, M. M., Deneen, P. M., Smith, J. J., Berlocher, S. H., & Feder, J. L. (2022). The Build-Up of Population Genetic Divergence along the Speciation Continuum during a Recent Adaptive Radiation of Rhagoletis Flies. Genes, 13(2), Article 275. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes13020275
Dowle, E. J., Powell, T. H. Q., Doellman, M. M., Meyers, P. J., Calvert, M. B., Walden, K. K. O., Robertson, H. M., Berlocher, S. H., Feder, J. L., Hahn, D. A., & Ragland, G. J. (2020). Genome-wide variation and transcriptional changes in diverse developmental processes underlie the rapid evolution of seasonal adaptation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 117(38), 23960-23969. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2002357117