Biology Department Faculty
Jeffrey DaCosta
Associate Professor of the Practice
Jeffrey DaCosta
Ph.D.
Contact
Higgins Hall 568
Telephone: 617-552-8945
Email: jeffrey.dacosta@bc.edu
ORCID 0000-0002-8590-2083
Education
- B.S., University of Massachusetts Amherst
- M.S., University of Nevada Las Vegas
- Ph.D., Boston University
Research Interests
Evolutionary biology, behavioral ecology, phylogenetics, ornithology
Department
Research
The field of evolutionary biology is in an exciting period of transformation, as cutting-edge laboratory protocols and analytical methods provide unprecedented power to study processes of evolution. My research utilizes these modern methods, and focuses on advancing our understanding of the generation and maintenance of biodiversity by using DNA sequence data to reconstruct the history of species and populations. This research has questions covering a wide range of topics (e.g., speciation, adaptation, biogeography, comparative analyses) and time scales from ancient diversification to parent-offspring relationships.
I teach the foundational Ecology and Evolution course, and am developing upper-level courses related to ecology, behavior, and evolution. Students that are enrolled in my advanced experience labs or mentored in undergraduate research projects gain hands-on research experience in these fields.
Selected Publications
- DaCosta JM, Miller MJ, Mortensen JL, Reed JM, Curry RL, Sorenson MD. 2019. Phylogenomics clarifies biogeographic and evolutionary history, and conservation status of West Indian tremblers and thrashers (Aves: Mimidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 136: 196-205.
- Wells CP, Lavretsky P, Sorenson MD, Peters JL, DaCosta JM, Turnbull S, Uyehara KJ, Malachowski CP, Dugger BD, Eadie JM, Engilis Jr A. 2019. Persistence of an endangered native duck, feral mallards, and multiple hybrid swarms across the main Hawaiian Islands. Molecular Ecology. 28: 5203-5216.
- Peters JL, Lavretsky P, DaCosta JM, Bielefeld RR, Feddersen JC, Sorenson MD. 2016. Population genomic data delineate conservation units in mottled ducks (Anas fulvigula). Biological Conservation. 203: 272-281.
- Arnold BJ, Lahner B, DaCosta JM, Weisman CM, Hollister JD, Salt DE, Bomblies K, Yant L. 2016. Borrowed alleles and convergence in serpentine adaptation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 113: 8320–8325.
- DaCosta JM, Sorenson MD. 2016. ddRAD-seq phylogenetics based on nucleotide, indel, and presence-absence polymorphisms: analyses of two avian genera with contrasting histories. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 94:122-135.
- Lavretsky P, DaCosta JM, Hernández-Baños B, Engilis A, Sorenson MD, Peters J. 2015. Speciation genomics and a role for the sex chromosome in the early stages of divergence. Molecular Ecology. 24:5364–5378.
- DaCosta JM, Sorenson MD. 2014. An experimental test of host song mimicry as a species recognition cue among male brood parasitic indigobirds (Vidua spp.). The Auk: Ornithological Advances. 131:549-558.
- DaCosta JM, Sorenson MD. 2014. Amplification biases and consistent recovery of loci in a double-digest RAD-seq protocol. PLoS ONE. 9:e106713.
- DaCosta JM, Spellman GM, Escalante P, Klicka J. 2009. A molecular systematic revision of two historically problematic songbird clades: Aimophila and Pipilo. Journal of Avian Biology. 40:206-216.
- DaCosta JM, Klicka J. 2008. The Great American Interchange in birds: a phylogenetic perspective with the genus Trogon. Molecular Ecology. 17:1328-1343.