Assistant Professor, U of Calgary, July 2007 - present
Lecturer, Simon Fraser University, 2006 - 2007
Research Associate, University of Calgary, 2003 - 2006

B.Sc., Simon Fraser University, 1996
Ph.D., University of British Columbia, 2001
NSERC P.D.F., University of Toronto, 2003

Contact: jvamosi+ucalgary.ca [replace "+" with "@"]

My research focuses on questions pertaining to the origin and maintenance of biodiversity, especially of flowering plants. Traits that may influence biodiversity include pollination, seed dispersal, and sexual systems (among others). Currently, I am examining correlations between taxon size and risk of extinction, how pollination specialization may depend on pollinator communities (with Risa Sargent), and examining how competition for pollination can influence trait evolution and the spread of invasive species.

I also study the evolutionary ecology of dioecy, the breeding system in which individual plants have flowers with either male or female parts. This breeding system is rare among the angiosperms (~6% of species), yet few biologists have examined the reasons for its poor representation. When dioecy is mapped onto published phylogenies and the species richness of dioecious clades is compared to that of the nearest nondioecious relatives, dioecious clades appear to be, on average, smaller than their nondioecious sister-groups. This indicates that dioecy is associated with higher extinction rates or lower speciation rates. Research that I have conducted suggests that dioecy suffers higher extinction rates and/or lower speciation rates because of differences in seed dispersal and pollination dynamics.

For those interested in pursuing graduate studies under my supervision, please e-mail me with your specific research interests.

Links to my publications can be found here.