Texas Tech University

Sean H Rice

Professor
Evolutionary Theory and Mathematical Biology

Email: sean.h.rice@ttu.edu

Phone: 1(806)834-1006

  • B.A., Biology, Univ. of California, Santa Cruz (1984)
  • Ph.D, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona (1991)

Web Links:

Dr. Rise

Research Interests

My interests reach throughout evolutionary biology and my work has made contact a wide range of topics, including developmental modeling, morphological evolution in both invertebrates and vertebrates, population and quantitative genetics, macroevolution, and the philosophical and conceptual basis of evolutionary theory. My theoretical work currently focuses on two broad areas: 1) developing a rigorous theoretical framework for the study of developmental evolution, and 2) the mathematical and conceptual foundations of evolutionary theory. Empirical research by myself and my students focuses on systems that allow us to address important conceptual issues. Recent and current empirical projects in my lab include: the role of heterochrony in human brain evolution, morphological evolution in snails and ammonites, and the mechanics of speciation in rotifers. See my webpage for more information.

Selected Publications

  • Rice, S. H. & A. Papadopoulos. 2009. Evolution with stochastic fitness and stochastic migration. PLoS ONE 4(10):e7130.
  • Rice, S. H. 2008. A stochastic version of the Price equation reveals the interplay of deterministic and stochastic processes in evolution. BMC Evolutionary Biology. 8:262.
  • Rice, S. H. 2008. Theoretical approaches to the evolution of development and genetic architecture. In C. D. Schlichting & T. A. Mousseau (Eds.), The year in evolutionary biology 2008. Proceedings of the New York Academy of Sciences.
  • Rice, S. H. 2004. Evolutionary Theory: Mathematical and conceptual foundations. Sinauer Associates. Sunderland MA.
  • Rice, S. H. 2004. Developmental associations between traits: covariance and beyond. Genetics 166:513-526.
  • Rice, S. H. 2002. A general population genetic theory for the evolution of developmental interactions. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 99:15518-15523.
  • Rice, S. H. 2002. The role of heterochrony in primate brain evolution. In: N. Minugh-Purvis & K. J. McNamara eds., Human evolution through developmental change. Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, Baltimore.
  • Rice, S. H. 1998. The evolution of canalization and the breaking of von Baers laws: modeling the evolution of development with epistasis. Evolution 52:647-657.
  • Rice, S. H. 1998. The bio-geometry of mollusc shells. Paleobiology 24:133-149.
  • Rice, S. H. 1997. The analysis of ontogenetic trajectories: When a change in size or shape is not heterochrony. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 94.

Department of Biological Sciences

  • Address

    Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Box 43131 Lubbock, TX 79409
  • Phone

    806.742.2715
  • Email

    biology@ttu.edu