L. Lacey Knowles

Academic background

I received my Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1999. I was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona in 1999-2002.

Research interests

My research focuses on speciation and the processes that initiate or contribute to population divergence, and spans a wide range of temporal and spatial scales that have both ecological and evolutionary implications. We work on a diversity of empirical systems (including insects, mammals, fishes, plants and lizards) in the lab, with student and postdoc research focused on not only empirical applications, but also methodological development in some cases.

One major component of the research focuses on the effect of climate change on species diversity. For much of this work, our lab focuses on integrative approaches to generating hypotheses and testing them using genomic data and a range of analytical approaches. A particular focus in the lab is on developing refined hypotheses to test how species-specific traits influence the effects of climate change on patterns of genomic variation. Students interested in applying genomic approaches and/or the development of methodologies to such questions are encouraged to contact Dr. Knowles to discuss research opportunities.

Another primary component of research in the lab focuses on phylogenomics and application of genomic data to study the history of diversification. This work ranges from the conceptual and methodological challenges with inferring phylogenetic relationships when the genealogical history of loci differs, to the characterization of the processes structuring genomic variation across species (e.g., the relative contributions of incomplete lineage sorting, lateral gene transfer, and gene duplication and loss). Part of the work also addresses methodological issues with inferring species boundaries, using both genomic and phenotypic data. Please contact Dr. Knowles if you have an interest in conducting research in these areas.

Other projects in the lab span a range of topics, including studies to address the role of  sexual selection in diversification to studies on how specific traits might mediate dispersal patterns in studies of the biogeographic histories of taxa. As with the other research foci, this work combines both empirical investigations with methodological development and is carried out in a diversity of taxa (e.g., Fijian ants, Caribbean birds and crickets, and montane grasshoppers). If you have interests in such projects, please contact Dr. Knowles to discuss possible research opportunities.

See a comic featuring the research of Dr. Knowles "Grasshoppers and the Ice Age" by Jennifer Zee, a Ph.D. art student.

Teaching

EEB 516 Evolution
EEB 400 Statistical phylogeographic modeling applications in evolutionary biology/ecology

Graduate students

Giorgianna Auteri, Sasha Bishop, Rachel Wadleigh

Postdoctoral fellows

Arnaud Becheler, Richard Hodel, Ricardo Mariño-Pérez, Luciana Moreira

Undergraduate researchers

Visiting scholars

Dr. Alison Gonvales Naraveno, 2019-present, Departamento de Genetica, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Leiton Luna, 2019-2020, Federal University of Para, Emilio Goeldi Museum, Belem, Brazil

Edgardo Rengifo, 2019-2010, Mestra em Ciências- Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil 

Lab alumni

Diego Alvarado-Serrano: Ph.D. 2015,now an Assist. Professor at Ohio University
Jason Brown, Postdoctoral Fellow 2010 - 2013, now Assistant Professor at Southern Illinois University
Bryan Carstens, Postdoctoral Fellow 2004-07, now Full Professor, Ohio State University
Mark Christie, Postdoctoral Fellow, 2014, now an Assistant Professor at Purdue University
Tim Connallon, Ph.D. 2009,  now Lecturer, Head of Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, Monash University tim.connallon@monash.edu
Dan Edwards, Postdoctoral Fellow 2010-2012, now an Assistant Professor UC Merced
Qixin He, Ph.D., Ph.D. 2015, now Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Chicago
Richard Hodel, Postdoctoral Fellow 2017-2019, now Postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian
Huateng Huang, Ph.D. 2013, now an Assistant Professor, College of life Science, Shaanxi Normal University
Jen-Pan Huang, Ph.D. 2015, now a tenure-track Assistant Professor, Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
Mariah Kenny, MS 2018, now a research technician, University of Conneticut
Hayley Lanier, postdoctoral fellow 2010-2013, now an Assistant Professor at University of Oklahoma
Katharine Marske, postdoctoral fellow 2016, now an Assistant Professor at University of Oklahoma
Rob Massatti, Ph.D. 2016, now an evolutionary geneticists with USGS, Flagstaff AZ
John McCormack, Postdoctoral Fellow 2008-10, now Assoc. Professor at Occidental College
Tristan McKnight, Ph. D. 2017, now an Assist. Prof. of Practice, Entomology Dept, University of Arizona
Carlos Muñoz Ramírez, Ph.D. 2016, now a FONDECYT Postdoctoral Fellow, Facultad de Ciencias and CIBAS, Universidad Católica de la Ssma, Concepción, Chile
Luciana Moreira Resende, postdoctoral fellow 2016-2018,now an Assist. Professor, Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, , Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Melisa Olave, Postdoctoral Fellow 2014-206,now a postdoc at Universität Konstanz, Germany
Elen Oneal, Ph.D. 2009,  now a Postdoctoral Fellow, Duke University, eo22@duke.edu
Joaquin Ortego, Ramon y Cajal Research Fellow, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Anna Papadopoulou, Postdoctoral fellow 2013-2015, now an Assist. Prof. at University of Cyprus
Joyce Prado, Postdoctoral Fellow 2017, now a postdoctoral fellow at Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo,ES, Brazil
Corrine Richards, Ph.D. 2008, Postdoctoral Fellow 2008-09, University of California Berkeley, now an Assoc. Professor at University of Pittsburgh; Director of the Pymatuning Lab of Ecology
Lucy Tran, Ph.D. 2015 2015, now a Postdoctoral Fellow, UC Berkeley
Andréa Thomaz, Ph.D. 2017, now on a postdoctoral fellowship at the Biodiversity Center, University of British Columbia
Jeet Sukumaran, Postdoctoral Fellow 2014-2018, now an Assist. Professor, San Diego State University
Amanda Zellmer, Ph.D. 2010, now a Research Scientist at Occidental College, CA

Research Areas(s)

• Speciation, phylogeography, evolutionary radiations

Affiliation(s)

• Museum of Zoology

Field(s) of Study

• Speciation, sexual selection, phylogeography, and evolutionary radiations