[1] His research studies the ecology of natural selection using experimental techniques.
His studies focus on a number of specific problems ranging from the differences in inflorescence size among populations of the flypoison lily, Zigadenus (Amianthium) muscatoxicus in Virginia to the striking divergence in body size in north Florida populations of the sailfin molly, Poecilia latipinna.
He also is part of a large team of scientists, led by David Reznick of the University of California, Riverside, that is investigating how adaptation in Trinidadian guppies, Poecilia reticulata, alters how guppies interact with their predators and creates cascading effects on energy flow through the mountain stream ecosystem.
[2] He served as the Chair of the Department of Biological Science at Florida State University (FSU) from 1991 to 1997, after which he served as Dean of FSU's College of Arts and Sciences from 2005 to 2011.
The award "is given to an active investigator in mid-career who has made significant contributions to the knowledge of a particular ecosystem or group of organisms.