Stephen Montgomery
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The primary aim of my research is to understand how and why brains and behaviour evolve by integrating genetic, developmental and ecological perspectives. The ultimate/long term goal is to identify the molecular and anatomical basis of behaviour and understand how this relates to evolutionary fitness.
Most of my research has been on brain evolution in mammals, particularly primates, but I have recently begun studying how selection shapes variation in brain structure, how this variation relates to behavioural adaptation and plasticity, and what role brain evolution plays during speciation, using the diversity of neotropical butterflies as a model system.