V. Louise Roth

Professor in the Department of Biology

Office: 
241 Bio Sci Bldg, Durham, NC 27708
Campus Box: 
Duke Box 90325, Durham, NC 27708-0325
Phone: 
(919) 660-7352
Email: 
vlroth@duke.edu
V. Louise Roth
In addition to conceptual work on the biological bases of homology, variation, and parallel evolution, my research has focused on evolutionary changes in size and shape in mammals: the functional consequences of these changes, and the evolutionary modifications of ontogenetic processes that produce them. This work makes use of DNA sequences, morphometric data, and geographic distributions to study macroevolutionary changes within a phylogenetic context. Projects have included DNA sequence phylogenies of squirrels, experimental work on prenatal maternal effects on body size in large insular deermice, and morphometric studies of growth in elephants, dwarfism in an insular (Pleistocene) dwarf mammoth, and gigantism in insular deermice.

Education

  • Ph.D., Yale University 1982

  • M.Phil., Yale University 1978

  • B.S., Brown University 1975

Louise Roth, V, and Mercer, JM. "Themes and variation in sciurid evolution." In Evolution of the Rodents: Advances in Phylogeny, Functional Morphology and Development, 221-245. January 1, 2015. Full Text

Roth, VL. "Within and Between Organisms: Replicators, Lineages, and Homologues." In Homology: The Hierarchical Basis of Comparative Biology, 301-337. October 22, 2013. Full Text

Roth, VL. "Variation and versatility in macroevolution." In Variation, a Central Concept in Biology,edited by HallgrÍmsson, B and Hall, BK, 455-474.: Academic Press, 2005. (Chapter) Full Text

Roth, VL. "Character replication." In The Character Concept in Evolutionary Biology,edited by GP Wagner, 81-107. Academic Press, 2001. (Chapter)

Roth, VL. "Pleistocene dwarf elephants of the California Islands." In The Proboscidea: Evolution and Palaeoecology of Elephants and their Relatives,edited by J Shoshani and P Tassy, 249-253. Oxford University Press, 1996. (Chapter)

Todd, NE, and Roth, VL. "Origin and radiation of the Elephantidae." In The Proboscidea: Evolution and Palaeoecology of Elephants and their Relatives,edited by J Shoshani and P Tassy, 193-202. Oxford University Press, 1996. (Chapter)

Agenbroad, LD, Lister, AM, Mol, D, and Roth, VL. "Mammuthus primigenius remains from the Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, South Dakota." In The Hot Springs Mammoth Site: a Decade of Field and Laboratory Research in Paleontology, Geology, and Paleoecology,edited by LD Agenbroad and JI Mead, 269-281. Hot Springs, SD: The Mammoth Site, 1994. (Chapter)

Roth, VL. "Within and between organisms: Replicators, lineages, and homologues." In Homology: the Hierarchical Basis of Comparative Biology,edited by BK Hall, 310-337. Academic Press, 1994. (Chapter)

Roth, VL. "Dwarfism and variability in the Santa Rosa island mammoth: An interspecific comparison of limb-bone sizes and shapes in elephants." In Third California Islands Symposium: Recent Advances in Research on the California Islands,edited by FG Hochberg, 433-442. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 1993. (Chapter)

Roth, VL. "On three-dimensional morphometrics, and on the identification of landmark points." In Advances in Morphometrics,edited by L Marcus, E Bello, and AG Valdecasas, 41-61. Madrid: Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, 1993. (Chapter)

Pages

Badgley, C, Smiley, TM, Terry, R, Davis, EB, DeSantis, LRG, Fox, DL, Hopkins, SSB, Jezkova, T, Matocq, MD, Matzke, N, McGuire, JL, Mulch, A, Riddle, BR, Roth, VL, Samuels, JX, Strömberg, CAE, and Yanites, BJ. "Biodiversity and Topographic Complexity: Modern and Geohistorical Perspectives." Trends in Ecology & Evolution 32, no. 3 (March 2017): 211-226. (Review) Full Text

Hoehn, KB, Harnik, PG, and Roth, VL. "A framework for detecting natural selection on traits above the species level." Methods in Ecology and Evolution 7, no. 3 (March 2016): 331-339. Full Text

Van Valkenburgh, B, Hayward, MW, Ripple, WJ, Meloro, C, and Roth, VL. "The impact of large terrestrial carnivores on Pleistocene ecosystems." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 113, no. 4 (2016): 862-867.

Durst, PAP, and Roth, VL. "Mainland size variation informs predictive models of exceptional insular body size change in rodents." Proceedings. Biological Sciences 282, no. 1810 (July 2015). Full Text Open Access Copy

Curtin, AJ, MacDowell, AA, Schaible, EG, and Roth, VL. "Noninvasive histological comparison of bone growth patterns among fossil and extant neonatal elephantids using synchrotron radiation X-ray microtomography." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 32, no. 4 (July 1, 2012): 939-955. Full Text

Price, SA, Hopkins, SSB, Smith, KK, and Roth, VL. "Tempo of trophic evolution and its impact on mammalian diversification." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 109, no. 18 (May 2012): 7008-7012. Full Text

Durst, PAP, and Roth, VL. "Classification tree methods provide a multifactorial approach to predicting insular body size evolution in rodents." Am Nat 179, no. 4 (April 2012): 545-553. Full Text

Chi, K-J, and Louise Roth, V. "Scaling and mechanics of carnivoran footpads reveal the principles of footpad design." Journal of the Royal Society Interface 7, no. 49 (August 2010): 1145-1155. Full Text

Curtin, AJ, MacDowell, AA, Schaible, EG, and Roth, VL. "Non-invasive histological comparison of bone growth patterns among fossil and extant neonatal elephantids using synchrotron radiation X-ray microtomography." INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY 49 (February 2009): E42-E42.

Siegel, SJ, Percopo, CM, Dyer, KD, Zhao, W, Roth, VL, Mercer, JM, and Rosenberg, HF. "RNase 1 genes from the family Sciuridae define a novel rodent ribonuclease cluster." Mammalian Genome 20, no. 11-12 (2009): 749-757. Full Text

Pages

Durst, PA, and Roth, VL. "Examining factors influencing body size change for insular rodents." April 2013.

Chi, K-J, Schmitt, D, and Roth, VL. "Different functional mechanisms of foot-footpad complex for plantigrade and digitigrade mammals in the context of locomotion." Annual Meeting of the Society-for-Integrative-and-Comparative-Biology. Salt Lake, UT. January 3, 2011 - January 7, 2011.: OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC, February 1, 2009.

Chi, KJ, and Roth, VL. "Scaling of foot contact area and its mechanical implications for mammals of different foot postures." December 2004.

Roth, VL. "Ecology and evolution of dwarfing in insular elephants." The World of Elephants: Proceedings of the 1st International Congress. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche: Rome. 2001.

Roth, VL. "Morphometrics in development and evolution." 1999.

ROTH, V, and DISHOP, M. "Evolutionary Relationships Among the Scriurdae - Analysis of Cranial Characters in Tree, ground, and Flying Squirrels." October 1994.

Roth, VL. "Macroecology of animal body size." BioScience (BioOne) 64, no. 6 (2014): 546-547. (Scholarly Commentary)

Roth, VL. "Homology." Novartis Foundation Symposium #222 (1999). (Scholarly Commentary)

Roth, VL. "Homoplasy: the recurrence of similarity in evolution." American Scientist: the Magazine of Sigma XI, the Scientific Research Society 86 (1998): 193-193. (Scholarly Commentary)

Roth, VL. "Mammoths, mastodonts, and elephants: biology, behavior and the fossil record." Journal of Mammalogy 75 (1994): 234-236. (Scholarly Commentary)

Roth, VL. "On evolution and fossil mammals." American Scientist: the Magazine of Sigma XI, the Scientific Research Society 77 (1989): 283-283. (Scholarly Commentary)

Roth, VL. "Vertebrate Fetal Membranes. Comparative Ontogeny and Morphology; Evolution; Phylogenetic Significance; Basic Functions; Research Opportunities.Harland W. Mossman." The Quarterly Review of Biology 63, no. 1 (March 1988): 89-89. Full Text

Roth, VL. "The Sumatran Rhinoceros Dicerorhinus sumatrensis (1814) in The Gunung Leuser National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia; Its Distribution, Ecology, and Conservation." Systematic Zoology 36 (1987): 90-91. (Scholarly Commentary)

Selected Grants

Training Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology awarded by National Institutes of Health (Mentor). 2001 to 2022

DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Factors Influencing the Coevolution of Peromyscus Maniculatus and its Ectoparasites on the Califo awarded by National Science Foundation (Principal Investigator). 2013 to 2017

DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Mechanical Properties and Functional Morphology of Mammalian Footpads awarded by National Science Foundation (Principal Investigator). 2002 to 2004

REU Supplement: Molecular Systematics of the Sciuridae awarded by National Science Foundation (Principal Investigator). 1998 to 2004

(97-1024) Molecular Systematics of the Sciuridae awarded by National Science Foundation (Principal Investigator). 1998 to 2002

Dissertation Research: Evolution and Functional Morphology in Incisors in Wood-Cutting Castorids awarded by National Science Foundation (Co Investigator). 2000 to 2001

(91-0449) A Comparative Study of Cranial Development in the Thamnophiine Snakes awarded by National Science Foundation (Principal Investigator). 1991 to 1993

(86-0098) Systematics and Allometry of Pygmy Squirrels awarded by National Science Foundation (Principal Investigator). 1986 to 1989

(86-0123) Systematic and Allometry of Pygmy Squirrels awarded by National Science Foundation (Principal Investigator). 1986 to 1989