Patricia Adair Gowaty
Encyclopedia
Patricia Adair Gowaty is an American evolutionary biologist. She received her B.A. in biology
at Tulane University
and her PhD in zoology
at Clemson University
in 1980. She is currently a Distinguished Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles
.
Gowaty is known for her many articles about human and animal behavior and evolution
. She is author and editor of a book that seeks to combine feminist theory
and Darwinian
evolutionary biology. She has also written about the effects of and importance of rape
in understanding human evolution
. Her recent research has focused on the concept of reproductive compensation
in population genetics
.
Gowaty is married to biologist Stephen P. Hubbell
, with whom she has co-authored many journal articles about ecology and evolutionary biology.
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
at Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
and her PhD in zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
at Clemson University
Clemson University
Clemson University is an American public, coeducational, land-grant, sea-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States....
in 1980. She is currently a Distinguished Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
.
Gowaty is known for her many articles about human and animal behavior and evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
. She is author and editor of a book that seeks to combine feminist theory
Feminist theory
Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, or philosophical discourse, it aims to understand the nature of gender inequality...
and Darwinian
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
evolutionary biology. She has also written about the effects of and importance of rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
in understanding human evolution
Human evolution
Human evolution refers to the evolutionary history of the genus Homo, including the emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct species and as a unique category of hominids and mammals...
. Her recent research has focused on the concept of reproductive compensation
Reproductive compensation
Reproductive compensation was originally a theory to explain why recessive genetic disorders may persist in a population. It was proposed in 1967 as an explanation for the maintenance of Rh negative blood groups. Reproductive compensation refers to the tendency of parents, seeking a given family...
in population genetics
Population genetics
Population genetics is the study of allele frequency distribution and change under the influence of the four main evolutionary processes: natural selection, genetic drift, mutation and gene flow. It also takes into account the factors of recombination, population subdivision and population...
.
Gowaty is married to biologist Stephen P. Hubbell
Stephen P. Hubbell
Stephen P. Hubbell is an American ecologist on the faculty of the University of California, Los Angeles. He is author and proponent of the unified neutral theory of biodiversity and biogeography , which seeks to explain the diversity and relative abundance of species in ecological communities. Dr...
, with whom she has co-authored many journal articles about ecology and evolutionary biology.