J. JAMES MURRAY, JR.

Professor of Biology Emeritus

 

Education

  • B.S., Davidson College, 1951
  • B.A., Oxford University, 1954
  • M.A., Oxford University, 1957
  • Ph.D., Oxford University, 1962

Contact Information

 Postal Email Phone Web
 Rm. 052B, Gilmer Hall
 Department of Biology
 PO Box 400328
 University of Virginia
 Charlottesville, VA  22904-4328		 jjm5a@virginia.edu  Office:
 (434)982-5771
 Lab:
 (434)982-5771		 None

Research Interests

Figure Legend:

Genetic variation in Cepaea nemoralis.

The Control of Genetic Polymorphism and Speciation in Land Snails

Land snails are among the most variable of all living creatures. They are polymorphic with respect to the color, banding, and chirality of the shell, mobility of allozymes, and mitochondrial DNA. In addition there are often closely related species living in the same area. The thrust of our research is to understand the evolution of populations of two genera of these polymorphic snails. Partula is a group of species inhabiting the volcanic island of the South Pacific. We have shown that the evolution of this group parallels the geological history of the islands themselves. Cepaea nemoralis, a member of a European group, has been introduced into America. The polymorphism of this species has responded to the changed environment with a burst of evolutionary change. A recent project is the conservation of the Pacific species, which are currently threatened with extinction.

Representative Publications

  1. Murray, J., Stine, O.C., and Johnson, M.S. (1991) The evolution of mitochondrial DNA in Partula. Heredity, 66:93-104.
  2. Johnson, M.S., Murray, J., and Clarke, B. (1993) The ecological genetics and adaptive radiation of Partula on Moorea. Oxford Surveys in Evolutionary Biology, 9:167-238.
  3. Murray, J., Clarke, B., and Johnson, M.S. (1993) Adaptive radiation and community structure of Partula on Moorea. Proc. Roy. Soc., London, B, 254:205-211.
  4. Clarke, B., Johnson, M.S., and Murray, J. (1996) Clines in the genetic distance between two species of island land snails: how "molecular leakage " can mislead us about speciation. Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc., London, B, 351:773-784.