The primary goal of our research is to understand the mechanisms that generate biodiversity.  We use molecular and genomic technologies to study how genetic change directs the development of differences between species and ultimately gives rise to two important evolutionary processes— speciation and phenotypic evolution.  We study two powerful systems to address questions at the interface of evolution, genetics, and development: the Drosophila melanogaster species complex (D. melanogaster, D. simulans, D. sechellia, D. mauritiana) and several closely related species of Enallagma damselflies.