Dan McNabney

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Courses

Scholarly Contributions

Chapters

• Orr, H. A., & McNabney, D. (2013). Genetics of Speciation. In The Princeton Guide to Evolution. Princeton University Press.

Journals/Publications

• McNabney, D. (2012). The genetic basis of behavioral isolation between Drosophila mauritiana and D. sechellia. Evolution, 66(7). doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2012.01600.x
  More info

  Understanding how species form is a fundamental question in evolutionary biology. Identifying the genetic bases of barriers that prevent gene flow between species provides insight into how speciation occurs. Here, I analyze a poorly understood reproductive isolating barrier, prezygotic reproductive isolation. I perform a genetic analysis of prezygotic isolation between two closely related species of Drosophila, D. mauritiana and D. sechellia. I first confirm the existence of strong behavioral isolation between D. mauritiana females and D. sechellia males. Next, I examine the genetic basis of behavioral isolation by (1) scanning an existing set of introgression lines for chromosomal regions that have a large effect on isolation; and (2) mapping quantitative trait loci (QTL) that underlie behavioral isolation via backcross analysis. In particular, I map QTL that determine whether a hybrid backcross female and a D. sechellia male will mate. I identify a single significant QTL, on the X chromosome, suggesting that few major-effect loci contribute to behavioral isolation between these species. In further work, I refine the map position of the QTL to a small region of the X chromosome. © 2012 The Author(s). Evolution © 2012 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Presentations

• Stanescu, C. I., Klass, M. M., Maley, T. D., McRobbie-Johnson, A. C., Agosttini, J. A., Lease, H. M., Roof, A. K., & Mcnabney, D. R. (2025).

  Creation and Implementation of Low-Cost, Inclusive Course Materials in a Two-Semester Human Anatomy & Physiology Course Sequence.

  . Physiology Majors Interest Group (P-MIG) Conference. Gonzaga University.
• Stanescu, C. I., McRobbie-Johnson, A. C., Agosttini, J. A., Mcnabney, D. R., Lease, H. M., & Roof, A. K. (2025).

  One Year In: Student and TA Feedback on Hybrid Anatomy and Physiology Labs.

  . Physiology Majors Interest Group (P-MIG) Conference. Gonzaga University.