Claus Rüffler

I am a theoretical evolutionary ecologist interested in the evolution and maintenance of phenotypic diversity within and among populations. I am particularly interested in the role of ecological interactions in driving the evolution of such diversity.

Please visit my lab website for further information.

My google scholar-profile can be found here.

Also at Animal Ecology.

I am a theoretical biologist interested in ecology and evolution. More specifically, I am interested in the evolution and maintenance of phenotypic diversity within and among populations. I am particularly interested in the role of ecological interactions in driving the evolution of such diversity. Phenotypic diversity can result from genetic diversity or from interactions of the genotype-phenotype map with the environment. By means of mathematical models, I try to understand both the ecological conditions and the genetic and developmental constraints that favor alternative modes of phenotype determination.

Furthermore, I am interested in the origin of organismal complexity as driven by the evolution of division of labor. Organisms consist of modules at various levels of their organization such as genes, cells, segments or individuals in clonal colonies. These modules can either fulfill different functions or be specialized on performing only few functions. Again, I am interested in the ecological conditions and developmental constraints that favor these alternative evolutionary outcomes.