Professor Mark Blows
Professor

Mark Blows

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 336 57277

Background

My research interests are in evolutionary quantitative genetics. Much of my research involves developing multivariate statistical approaches to the analysis of the genetic basis of complex traits, and the selection acting upon them, which are then applied to questions in statistical genetics and evolutionary biology. Many of the empirical studies I conduct use the Australian native model system Drosophila serrata.

Availability

Professor Mark Blows is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Fields of research

Biological Sciences Genetics

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, La Trobe University

Search Professor Mark Blows’s works on UQ eSpace

117 works between 1991 and 2023
All (117) Journal Article (111) Book Chapter (1) Conference Publication (1) Other Outputs (4)

21 - 40 of 117 works

2017

Journal Article

Heritable micro-environmental variance covaries with fitness in an outbred population of Drosophila serrata

Sztepanacz, Jacqueline L., McGuigan, Katrina and Blows, Mark W. (2017). Heritable micro-environmental variance covaries with fitness in an outbred population of Drosophila serrata. Genetics, 206 (4), 2185-2198. doi: 10.1534/genetics.116.199075

Heritable micro-environmental variance covaries with fitness in an outbred population of Drosophila serrata

2017

Journal Article

Accounting for sampling error in genetic eigenvalues using random matrix theory

Sztepanacz, Jacqueline L. and Blows, Mark W. (2017). Accounting for sampling error in genetic eigenvalues using random matrix theory. Genetics, 206 (3), 1271-1284. doi: 10.1534/genetics.116.198606

Accounting for sampling error in genetic eigenvalues using random matrix theory

2016

Journal Article

Genetic compatibility underlies benefits of mate choice in an external fertilizer

Aguirre, J. David, Blows, Mark W. and Marshall, Dustin J. (2016). Genetic compatibility underlies benefits of mate choice in an external fertilizer. American Naturalist, 187 (5), 647-657. doi: 10.1086/685892

Genetic compatibility underlies benefits of mate choice in an external fertilizer

2016

Book Chapter

THE DISTRIBUTION OF GENETIC VARIANCE ACROSS PHENOTYPIC SPACE AND THE RESPONSE TO SELECTION

Blows, Mark W. and McGuigan, Katrina (2016). THE DISTRIBUTION OF GENETIC VARIANCE ACROSS PHENOTYPIC SPACE AND THE RESPONSE TO SELECTION. Invasion Genetics: The Baker and Stebbins Legacy. (pp. 187-205) wiley. doi: 10.1002/9781119072799.ch11

THE DISTRIBUTION OF GENETIC VARIANCE ACROSS PHENOTYPIC SPACE AND THE RESPONSE TO SELECTION

2016

Journal Article

Testing for a genetic response to sexual selection in a wild Drosophila population

Gosden, T. P., Thomson, J. R., Blows, M. W., Schaul, A. and Chenoweth, S. F. (2016). Testing for a genetic response to sexual selection in a wild Drosophila population. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 29 (6), 1278-1283. doi: 10.1111/jeb.12851

Testing for a genetic response to sexual selection in a wild Drosophila population

2015

Journal Article

Transcriptome-wide effects of sexual selection on the fate of new mutations

Collet, Julie M., Blows, Mark W. and McGuigan, Katrina (2015). Transcriptome-wide effects of sexual selection on the fate of new mutations. Evolution, 69 (11), 2905-2916. doi: 10.1111/evo.12778

Transcriptome-wide effects of sexual selection on the fate of new mutations

2015

Journal Article

The distribution of genetic variance across phenotypic space and the response to selection

Blows, Mark W. and McGuigan, Katrina (2015). The distribution of genetic variance across phenotypic space and the response to selection. Molecular Ecology, 24 (9), 2056-2072. doi: 10.1111/mec.13023

The distribution of genetic variance across phenotypic space and the response to selection

2014

Journal Article

Female mate choice predicts paternity success in the absence of additive genetic variance for other female paternity bias mechanisms in Drosophila serrata

Collet, J. M. and Blows, M. W. (2014). Female mate choice predicts paternity success in the absence of additive genetic variance for other female paternity bias mechanisms in Drosophila serrata. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 27 (11), 2568-2572. doi: 10.1111/jeb.12511

Female mate choice predicts paternity success in the absence of additive genetic variance for other female paternity bias mechanisms in Drosophila serrata

2014

Journal Article

The genetic covariance between life cycle stages separated by metamorphosis

Aguirre, J. David, Blows, Mark W. and Marshall, Dustin J. (2014). The genetic covariance between life cycle stages separated by metamorphosis. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 281 (1788) 20141091, 1-8. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2014.1091

The genetic covariance between life cycle stages separated by metamorphosis

2014

Journal Article

Pleiotropic mutations are subject to strong stabilizing selection

McGuigan, Katrina, Collet, Julie M., Allen, Scott L., Chenoweth, Stephen F. and Blows, Mark W. (2014). Pleiotropic mutations are subject to strong stabilizing selection. Genetics, 197 (3), 1051-1062. doi: 10.1534/genetics.114.165720

Pleiotropic mutations are subject to strong stabilizing selection

2014

Journal Article

Estimating uncertainty in multivariate responses to selection

Stinchcombe, John R., Simonsen, Anna K. and Blows, Mark W. (2014). Estimating uncertainty in multivariate responses to selection. Evolution, 68 (4), 1188-1196. doi: 10.1111/evo.12321

Estimating uncertainty in multivariate responses to selection

2014

Journal Article

The nature and extent of mutational pleiotropy in gene expression of male Drosophila serrata

McGuigan, Katrina, Collet, Julie M., McGraw, Elizabeth A., Ye, Yixin H., Allen, Scott L., Chenoweth, Stephen F. and Blows, Mark W. (2014). The nature and extent of mutational pleiotropy in gene expression of male Drosophila serrata. Genetics, 196 (3), 911-921. doi: 10.1534/genetics.114.161232

The nature and extent of mutational pleiotropy in gene expression of male Drosophila serrata

2014

Journal Article

Relative influence of resident species and environmental variation on community assembly

Riedel, Arthur, Monro, Keyne, Blows, Mark W. and Marshall, Dustin J. (2014). Relative influence of resident species and environmental variation on community assembly. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 499, 103-113+2. doi: 10.3354/meps10695

Relative influence of resident species and environmental variation on community assembly

2014

Journal Article

The contribution of spontaneous mutations to thermal sensitivity curve variation in drosophila serrata

Latimer, Camille A. L., McGuigan, Katrina, Wilson, Robbie S., Blows, Mark W. and Chenoweth, Stephen F. (2014). The contribution of spontaneous mutations to thermal sensitivity curve variation in drosophila serrata. Evolution, 68 (6), 1824-1837. doi: 10.1111/evo.12392

The contribution of spontaneous mutations to thermal sensitivity curve variation in drosophila serrata

2014

Journal Article

Comparing G: multivariate analysis of genetic variation in multiple populations

Aguirre, J. D., Hine, E., McGuigan, K. and Blows, M. W. (2014). Comparing G: multivariate analysis of genetic variation in multiple populations. Heredity, 112 (1), 21-29. doi: 10.1038/hdy.2013.12

Comparing G: multivariate analysis of genetic variation in multiple populations

2013

Journal Article

Joint allelic effects on fitness and metric traits

McGuigan, Katrina and Blows, Mark W. (2013). Joint allelic effects on fitness and metric traits. Evolution, 67 (4), 1131-1142. doi: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2012.01833.x

Joint allelic effects on fitness and metric traits

2012

Journal Article

Evolutionary optimum for male sexual traits characterized using the multivariate Robertson-Price Identity

Delcourt, Matthieu, Blows, Mark W., Aguirre, J. David and Rundle, Howard D. (2012). Evolutionary optimum for male sexual traits characterized using the multivariate Robertson-Price Identity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA, 109 (26), 10414-10419. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1116828109

Evolutionary optimum for male sexual traits characterized using the multivariate Robertson-Price Identity

2011

Journal Article

Reducing mutation load through sexual selection on males

McGuigan, Kate, Petfield, Donna and Blows, Mark W. (2011). Reducing mutation load through sexual selection on males. Evolution, 65 (10), 2816-2829. doi: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01346.x

Reducing mutation load through sexual selection on males

2011

Journal Article

High-dimensional variance partitioning reveals the modular genetic basis of adaptive divergence in gene expressionduring reproductive character displacement

McGraw, Elizabeth A., Ye, Yixin H., Foley, Brad, Chenoweth, Stephen F., Higgie, Megan, Hine, Emma and Blows, Mark W. (2011). High-dimensional variance partitioning reveals the modular genetic basis of adaptive divergence in gene expressionduring reproductive character displacement. Evolution, 65 (11), 3126-3137. doi: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01371.x

High-dimensional variance partitioning reveals the modular genetic basis of adaptive divergence in gene expressionduring reproductive character displacement

2011

Journal Article

Natural selection stops the evolution of male attractiveness

Hine, Emma, McGuigan, Katrina and Blows, Mark W (2011). Natural selection stops the evolution of male attractiveness. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108 (9), 3659-3664. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1011876108

Natural selection stops the evolution of male attractiveness

Past funding

  • 2019 - 2024
    The nature of standing genetic variation
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2019
    Operation of the Queensland Emory Drug Development Initiative (QEDDI)
    Queensland Government Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2017
    The contribution of pleiotropic mutation to genetic variation and evolution
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2021
    Why does the genetic nearly-null subspace exist?
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2011 - 2013
    Mutational Genetic Variance and the Fitness Optimum
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2010 - 2018
    The Geometry of Genetic Limits to Evolutionary Change
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2010
    Genetical Genomics of Mutational Variance
    ARC Future Fellowships
    Open grant
  • 2010 - 2012
    Testing the Limits to Evolution: When and Why does adaptation fail in response to ecological change
    University of Bristol
    Open grant
  • 2008 - 2010
    Sexual selection and the accumulation of deleterious mutations
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2007 - 2009
    The Genomic Dimensionality of the Response to Natural Selection
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2005 - 2007
    Multivariate Quantitative Genetics And The Lek Paradox
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2002 - 2003
    Do females prefer males of high genetic quality?
    UQ Foundation Research Excellence Awards - DVC(R) Funding
    Open grant
  • 2002 - 2006
    Mapping Speciation Genes
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2001 - 2003
    Adaptation to Environmental Gradients
    La Trobe University
    Open grant
  • 2001
    Genetic Basis of speciation: Mapping Speciation Genes.
    ARC Australian Research Council (Large grants)
    Open grant
  • 2000
    Quantitative genetics in wild populations: Empirical test of a new molecular approach.
    ARC Australian Research Council (Small grants)
    Open grant
  • 2000
    Quantitative Genetics of Environmental Gradients
    UQ External Support Enabling Grant
    Open grant
  • 1999
    Process of speciation via sexual selection
    UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund
    Open grant
  • 1999
    The genetic basis of incipient speciation
    ARC Australian Research Council (Small grants)
    Open grant
  • 1999 - 2001
    The role of sexual selection in speciation
    ARC Australian Research Council (Large grants)
    Open grant
  • 1998
    Testing evolutionary explanations for species borders using two drosophila species
    James Cook University
    Open grant
  • 1998
    The genetic basis of speciation
    ARC Australian Research Council (Large grants)
    Open grant

Availability

Professor Mark Blows is:
Available for supervision

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Supervision history

Completed supervision

Enquiries

Contact Professor Mark Blows directly for media enquiries about:

  • Evolutionary genetics
  • Genetics - quantitative

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