With their eyes set at the ends of long, skinny stalks, stalk-eyed flies are some of the most unusual insects on Earth, and they’re found in many parts of the world, including right here in Maryland. In this talk, evolutionary biologist Dr. Gerald Wilkinson with the Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, shares discoveries from his studies of stalk-eyed fly species in Southeast Asia, which offers insight into how new species evolve.
Join us for a fascinating exploration of how beauty, rivalry, and genetics shape life’s diversity, from tropical forests to our own backyards.
You’ll learn how sexual selection, the drive to attract mates, and hidden genetic conflicts can spark dramatic changes in appearance and behavior, even leading to the formation of entirely new species.
Dr. Wilkinson was born in San Francisco and grew up in Northern California, where he spent his childhood catching snakes and lizards. He earned his undergraduate degree in Zoology from the University of California, Davis, and went on to receive his Ph.D. in Biology from the University of California, San Diego. During his dissertation work, he made a groundbreaking discovery that vampire bats engage in reciprocal food sharing, a finding that continues to draw attention today.
After completing his doctorate, Dr. Wilkinson conducted postdoctoral research in the United Kingdom at the Universities of Sussex and Edinburgh, studying sexual selection in flies, and later at the University of Colorado, where he investigated communal nursing in mice. He joined the University of Maryland, College Park, as an Assistant Professor, where he has now served for over 35 years.
His research spans a wide range of topics in animal behavior, genetics, and evolution, including cooperation, communication, sexual selection, genomic conflict, speciation, the evolution of language, and longevity. His current work focuses on understanding why bats live unusually long lives and explores the delicate balance between cooperation and conflict across different levels of biological organization, from genes to whole organisms such as bats and stalk-eyed flies.
Dr. Wilkinson has conducted field research across Africa, Central and South America, Southeast Asia, and Europe. When not immersed in science, he enjoys swimming, running, cycling, hiking, and nature photography.
