Evolution of herbivory in a drosophilid: Scaptomyza genomics and phylogenetics

The genus Scaptomyza, part of the family Drosophilidae, is a large clade ideal for studying biogeographic patterns and ecological diversification. While most Drosophilidae such as the genetic model Drosophila melanogaster are saprophages, Scaptomyza larvae exploit a wide variety of unusual food sources including spider eggs and mining living plant material. I use phylogenetics and genomics to study how a saprophagous lineage has adapted to a leaf-mining lifestyle.