Richard Prum

About

Richard Prum is the William Robertson Coe Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, as well as a Professor of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University. He serves as the Head Curator of Vertebrate Zoology at the Peabody Museum of Natural History. His recent research has focused on theoretical and molecular studies of the development and evolution of feathers, developing and applying new tools for the study of the physics and evolution of structural coloration, and continued efforts in phylogenetic ethology of polygynous birds. Prum has conducted field work throughout the Neotropics and in Madagascar, and has studied fossil theropods in China. His work integrates evolutionary biology, ornithology, and structural biology, contributing to our understanding of bird behavior, evolution, and morphology.

Research topics

• Biology
• Evolutionary biology
• Computer Science
• Ecology
• Communication
• Visual arts
• Composite material
• Nanotechnology
• Paleontology
• Optoelectronics

Selected publications

• Evolution of single gyroid photonic crystals in bird feathers

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2021 · 61 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  ), which have evolved from ancestral quasi-ordered channel-type nanostructures. Self-assembled avian photonic crystals may serve as inspiration for multifunctional applications, as they suggest efficient, alternative routes to single gyroid synthesis at optical length scales, which has been experimentally elusive.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Genomic phylogeography of the White-crowned Manakin Pseudopipra pipra (Aves: Pipridae) illuminates a continental-scale radiation out of the Andes

  Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution · 2021 · 35 citations

  The complex landscape history of the Neotropics has generated opportunities for population isolation and diversification that place this region among the most species-rich in the world. Detailed phylogeographic studies are required to uncover the biogeographic histories of Neotropical taxa, to identify evolutionary correlates of diversity, and to reveal patterns of genetic connectivity, disjunction, and potential differentiation among lineages from different areas of endemism. The White-crowned…

  PublisherDOI

• Recent divergence and lack of shared phylogeographic history characterize the diversification of neotropical savanna birds

  Journal of Biogeography · 2021-03-08 · 28 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Aim Neotropical savanna birds occur north and south of, but mostly not in the Amazon Basin, except for a few isolated savanna patches. Here, we investigate the phylogeography of 23 taxa of Neotropical savanna birds co‐distributed across multiple isolated savanna patches to assess to what extent these species have a shared history of spatial diversification. We explore the role of the forested Amazon Basin as a vicariant barrier separating northern and southern populations, particularly…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Hummingbird plumage color diversity exceeds the known gamut of all other birds

  Communications Biology · 2022-06-23 · 15 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  A color gamut quantitatively describes the diversity of a taxon's integumentary coloration as seen by a specific organismal visual system. We estimated the plumage color gamut of hummingbirds (Trochilidae), a family known for its diverse barbule structural coloration, using a tetrahedral avian color stimulus space and spectra from a taxonomically diverse sample of 114 species. The spectra sampled occupied 34.2% of the total diversity of colors perceivable by hummingbirds, which suggests constrai…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Genome and life-history evolution link bird diversification to the end-Cretaceous mass extinction

  Science Advances · 2024-07-31 · 14 citations

  articleOpen access

  Complex patterns of genome evolution associated with the end-Cretaceous [Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg)] mass extinction limit our understanding of the early evolutionary history of modern birds. Here, we analyzed patterns of avian molecular evolution and identified distinct macroevolutionary regimes across exons, introns, untranslated regions, and mitochondrial genomes. Bird clades originating near the K-Pg boundary exhibited numerous shifts in the mode of molecular evolution, suggesting a burst o…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Collaborative Research: IDBR: New Technology to Measure Oganismal Color Phenotypes: 3D, Hyperspectral, UV-Vis, Virtual Reality Models of Organismal Coloration

  NSF · $541k · 2009–2013

• A Fourier Analysis Tool for Biological Nano-optics

  NSF · $512k · 2000–2004

• Mechanics and Evolution of Tonal Sounds Produced by Feathers

  NSF · $449k · 2009–2013

Frequent coauthors

• Vinodkumar Saranathan

  Krea University

  75 shared

• Eric R. Dufresne

  44 shared

• Jacob S. Berv

  University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

  37 shared

• Teresa J. Feo

  Smithsonian Institution

  32 shared

• Christopher J. Clark

  University of California, Riverside

  30 shared

• S. G. J. Mochrie

  Yale University

  30 shared

• Heeso Noh

  Kookmin University

  28 shared

• Scott Williamson

  Stantec (Canada)

  28 shared

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