Dan McNabney

Interests

No activities entered.

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

• Mcnabney, D. R., Van Dorn, L. O., Rezende, L. F., Kanady, J. D., Hester, S. D., Eadie, E. C., Tejeda Padron, A. B., Gray, C. V., Haverland, A. C., Dykstra, E. M., Grace, S., & Roof, A. K. (2026).

  Understanding the Dynamics of Teaching Teams through the Lens of Communities of Practice

  . Annual Meeting of the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER)Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER).
  More info

  Presented findings from a research study done by an interdisciplinary group of faculty at the University of Arizona to an international group of educational researchers.
• 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.