Rick Williams, Ph.D.
Charles F. Rick Williams, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biology
Room 436 Gale Life Sciences Bldg
(208) 282-2948
willcha2@isu.edu
Plant Evolutionary Ecology Lab
Genetics and Evolutionary Ecology of Plant Reproduction, Evolution of Gynodioecy, Pollination and Seed Dispersal Biology, Functional Ecology of Mating Systems, Molecular Population Genetics, Quantitative Genetics, Animal Behavior
Education
B.S. in Zoology, 1979, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
M.S. in Biology, 1985, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL
Ph.D. in Botany, 1991, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
NSF Postdoctoral Fellow, 1991-3, University of California, Riverside, CA
Biographical Sketch
Dr. Williams has been on the faculty at ISU since 1999, after teaching at Nebraska Wesleyan University from 1993-1998. Ricks’ broad interests in ecology and evolutionary biology are reflected in his varied research experiences, ranging from social behavior of birds and bats to population genetics of seed dispersal, pollination biology, and plant and animal mating systems. His current research concentrates on the evolution of floral form and how it is shaped by plant-pollinator interactions, as well as the functional aspects of plant and insect mating systems. His research emphasizes both ecological field experiments and laboratory analysis of molecular markers. He works with graduate and undergraduate students on a wide variety of evolutionary and ecological topics. Dr. Williams and his students have worked at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (rmbl.org) since 1991.
Teaching
BIOL 358, General Genetics
BIOL 412/512, Systematic Botany
BIOL 442/542, Plant-Animal Interactions
BIOL 614, Evolutionary Ecology
BIOL 599, Origin of Species Seminar
BIOL 691, Seminar in Floral Biology
BIOL 691, Seminar in Phenotypic Evolution
Publications (selected)
Williams, C.F. 1986. Social organization of the bat, Carollia perspicillata (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae). Ethology 71:265-282.
Fleming, T.H., and C.F. Williams. 1990. Phenology, seed dispersal, and recruitment in Cecropia peltata (Cecropiaceae) in Costa Rican tropical dry forest. J. Trop. Ecol. 6:163-178.
Williams, C. F. and R. P. Guries. 1994. Genetic consequences of seed dispersal in three sympatric forest herbs. I. Hierarchical population genetic structure. Evolution 48(3):791-805.
Williams, C. F., M. A. Kuchenreuther, and A. Drew. 2000. Floral dimorphism, pollinator attraction and self-fertilization in gynodioecious Geranium richardsonii. (Geraniaceae). American Journal of Botany 87:661-669.
Williams, C. F., Ruvinsky, J., Scott, P. E., and D. K. Hews. 2001. Pollination, breeding system, and genetic structure in two sympatric Delphinium (Ranunculaceae) species. American Journal of Botany 88(9):1623-1633.
Waser, N. M., and C. F. Williams. 2001. Inbreeding and outbreeding. Pp. 84-98 In C.W. Fox, D. A. Roff, and D. J. Fairburn (eds.), Evolutionary ecology: concepts and case studies. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, UK.
Williams, C. F. 2007. Effects of floral display size and biparental inbreeding on outcrossing rates in Delphinium barbeyi (Ranunculaceae). American Journal of Botany 94(10): 1696-1705.
Thomas, D.T., A.R. Ahedor, C.F. Williams, C. DePamphilis, D.J. Crawford, and Q.-Y. Xiang. Genetic analysis of a broad hybrid zone in Aesculus (Sapindaceae) – Is there evidence of long-distance pollen dispersal? International Journal of Plant Sciences (in press)
Williams, C.F., K.L. O’Malley, and D.F. Sandmann. Female fitness advantages for outcrossing, fecundity, and inbreeding depression in gynodioecious Geranium richardsonii (Geraniaceae). (in preparation)
Bala, J., and C.F. Williams. Effects of nutrient limitation on gender and resource allocation in gynodioecious Geranium richardsonii (in preparation)