My research focuses on how the interactions of mitochondrial and nuclear genes shape the evolution of eukaryotes.  I am particularly interested in the role of mitonuclear interactions in the processes of sexual selection and speciation.  For many years, carotenoid coloration has been a focused interest in my lab group, and we are currently studying the connections between the female mate choice, carotenoid metabolism, cellular respiration, and mitonuclear compatibility.

I teach Ornithology every spring and alternate teaching a graduate seminar on Mitonuclear Ecology and Sexual Selection.

1. Koch, R.E.A., N. Kavazis, D. Hasselquist, W.R. Hood, Y. Zhang, and G.E. Hill. 2018. No evidence that carotenoid pigments boost either immune or antioxidant defenses in a songbird. Nature Communications 9:491.

2. Hill, G.E. 2018. Mitonuclear Mate Choice: A Missing Component of Sexual Selection Theory? BioEssays 40:1700191.

3. Weaver, R.J., Santos, E.S.A., Tucker, A.M., Wilson, A.E., and Hill, G.E. 2018. Carotenoid metabolism strengthens the link between coloration and condition: a meta-analysis. Nature Communications 9:73.

4. Cuthill, I.C., Allen, W.L., Arbuckle, K., Caspers, B., Chaplin, G., Hauber, M.E., Hill, G.E., Jablonski, N.G., Jiggins, C.D., Kelber, A. and Mappes, J. 2017. The biology of color. Science 357:6350.

5. Toomey, M.B., R.J. Lopes, P.M. Araújo, J.D. Johnson, M.A. Gazda, S. Afonso, P.G. Mota, R.E. Koch, G.E. Hill, J.C. Corbo and M. Carneiro. 2017. High-density lipoprotein receptor SCARB1 is required for carotenoid coloration in birds. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114:5219-5224.

6. Weaver, R.J., R.E. Koch, and G.E. Hill. 2017. What maintains signal honesty in animal color displays used in mate choice? Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. Lond. 372:1724.

7. Hill, G.E. 2017.  The mitonuclear compatibility species concept. Auk: Ornithological Advances 134:393-409.

8. Hill, G.E. 2016. Mitonuclear coevolution as the genesis of speciation and the mitochondrial DNA barcode gap. Ecology and Evolution 6:5831-5842.

9. Koch, R.E., C.J. Josefson, and G.E. Hill. 2016. Mitochondrial function, ornamentation, and immunocompetence. Biological Reviews 92:1459-1474.

10. Lopes, R.L., J.D. Johnson, M.B.B Toomey, S.M. Ferreira, J. Melo-Ferreira, L. Andersson, G.E. Hill*, J.C. Corbo*, and M.C. Carneiro*. 2016. The genetic basis for red coloration in birds. Current Biology 26:1427-1434. *co-corresponding authors.

11. Hill, G.E. 2015. Mitonuclear Ecology. Molecular Biology and Evolution 32:1917-1927.

12. Hill, G.E. 2011. Condition-dependent traits as signals of the functionality of vital cellular processes. Ecology Letters 14:625-634.

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