Phylogenetics and Phylogeography

Phylogenetics and phylogeography aim to understand the diversification patterns of organisms and their shared biogeographic histories by analyzing molecular and morphological characters using computational technology.

Italics = secondary appointment in EEB, can serve as graduate co-chair only

Paul E. Berry

Paul Berry's research focuses on the systematics, biogeography and character evolution of large groups of flowering plants, such as the genera Croton and Euphorbia in the spurge family.

Liliana Cortés-Ortiz 

Liliana Cortés-Ortiz integrates genetic, cytogenetic, morphological, and behavioral approaches to understand the evolution and diversification of primates and to establish primate conservation strategies. Her current research includes systematic and phylogeographic investigations of Neotropical primates and the study of hybridization in two well-defined sister species of howler monkeys.

Alison Davis Rabosky 

Alison Davis Rabosky uses field and molecular studies to answer questions about the evolution of behavior, the origins of phenotypic novelty, and biodiversity, often within reptiles.  Her research includes the role of color polymorphism in mimicry systems, the evolution of sociality in lizards, the systematics of New World snakes, and the conservation and management of island endemics.

Christopher Dick

Christopher Dick is interested in the ecology and evolutionary history of species-rich tropical forests. His research has focused primarily on phylogeny, phylogeography and population genetics of Neotropical trees. He is also eager to collaborate on projects involving temperate forest trees.

Thomas Duda

Thomas Duda investigates the processes associated with ecological diversification. This work includes field and laboratory studies that involve analyses of feeding ecology, phylogenetics and phylogeography, and molecular investigations of the evolution of venoms of members of the predatory, marine gastropod genus Conus.

Paul Dunlap

Paul Dunlap's research investigates the inception and development of species-specific symbioses between light-emitting bacteria and teleost fish. Laboratory studies examine symbiont-host interactions from the bacterial genetic, physiological, and genomic perspectives, field work addresses the behavioral ecology of the fish and population ecology of the bacteria, and mariculture studies focus on the developmental and reproductive biology of the fish.

Timothy James

Timothy James' research addresses mating and recombination in fungi using molecular techniques. He particularly focuses on the evolution of fungal mating incompatibility systems, as well as the evolution of alternatives to traditional sexual reproduction such as heterokaryosis and mitotic recombination. He studies organisms including mushrooms, water molds and pathogens such as the agent of amphibian chytridiomycosis.

L. Lacey Knowles

Lacey Knowles' research interests are in speciation, phylogeography and evolutionary radiations.

Hernán López-Fernández

Hernán López-Fernández studies the evolution of freshwater fishes with emphasis on South and Central America, which house the most diverse freshwater fish fauna on earth. The lab often uses the family Cichlidae as a model because it is an iconic subject of study in vertebrate adaptive evolution and the third most diverse family of Neotropical fishes. Research in the lab combines fieldwork, molecular phylogenetics/phylogenomics and comparative methods to integrate ecology, functional morphology, life histories and geography into macroevolutionary analyses of freshwater fish diversification.

Ronald Nussbaum

Ronald Nussbaum's research interests are in systematics, evolution, and ecology of amphibians and reptiles

Barry OConnor

Barry OConnor's research interests are in systematics, parasitology and acarology.

Diarmaid O'Foighil

Diarmaid Ó Foighil studies invertebrate evolution and systematics, and malacology.

Yin-Long Qiu

Yin-Long Qiu's research focuses on the evolution of land plants, evolution of mitochondrial genomes and reconstruction of land plant phylogeny using gene sequences and genomic structural features.

Daniel L. Rabosky

Daniel Rabosky studies macroevolution, speciation, and evolutionary community ecology. He is especially interested in how ecological factors influence the processes of speciation, extinction, and trait evolution through time and space. His research includes field-based studies of ecological diversification in Australian reptiles, molecular phylogenetics, and mathematical and computer modeling of evolutionary dynamics in a broad range of taxonomic groups.

Tony Reznicek (can serve as graduate co-chair only)

Tony Reznicek's major research interest is the systematics and evolution of sedges (Cyperaceae), especially the large and complex genus Carex. He emphasizes a multi-level approach concentrating on several aspects, including development of new characters useful in systematics, monographic studies of major groups, and processes and patterns of evolution. He is also conducting research on the biogeography of the northeastern North American flora, concentrating on the Great Lakes region.

Stephen A. Smith

Stephen Smith is interested in phylogenetics, computational molecular evolution, biogeography, and macroevolution. His research includes developing and implementing methods for the construction and analysis of phylogenetic trees. In addition to constructing trees, he also works on methods for examining geographic evolution and large scale evolutionary patterns. He primarily focuses on plant species, though he is interested in addressing these questions across the tree of life.

Benjamin Winger

Ben Winger studies speciation, biogeography, community assembly, and movement ecology (migration and dispersal) in birds. He uses a variety of approaches and data types in his research, including population genetics, genomics, phylogenetics, museum collections and fieldwork.