Who am I?

My name is Ron Coleman. I am an evolutionary ecologist, meaning I am interested in how evolution has shaped the ecology of organisms, in particular, their reproduction and parental care. I work predominantly on fishes, and most often, with cichlid fishes.

I am a Canadian. I got my B.Sc. at the University of British Columbia, my MSc at Simon Fraser University and my PhD at the University of Toronto (1993). I currently live in Sacramento, California with my wife, two cats and hundreds of cichlids. I teach at various local universities including the University of California at Berkeley, the University of California at Davis, and the University of the Pacific.

I have made eight trips to the La Selva Biological Station since 1989, for a total time there of over 4 months.

My research involves observation and experimentation on cichlid fishes in the New World tropics, including Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Mexico. La Selva is my principal research site because the cichlids breed in the Rio Puerto Viejo, right at the Station. These fish are easily accessible by snorkelling.

For more information about me and my research, follow this link to my Cichlid Research Home Page.