People

Dr. Milton Love's Reasons to Become a Marine Biologist (or in our lab's case, a Fish Evolutionary Anatomist):

Reason 1: "You can dress and act almost any way you want."

Reason 2: "If you like it, just do it."

In the field in Wyoming, looking for Early Devonian fish plates. Photo by Kelly Matsunaga

Allison Bronson, PhD

Assistant Professor of Zoology & Marine Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, California State Polytechnic University Humboldt https://www.humboldt.edu/biological-sciences/allison-bronson-phd

Research Associate, American Museum of Natural History, Division of Paleontology (Fossil Fishes) https://www.amnh.org/research/paleontology/collections/fossil-fish-collections

Contact: Allison.Bronson@humboldt.edu

My research has two primary goals: 1) Understand the evolution of anatomical innovations in fishes across deep time, and 2) Improve our knowledge of regional native fishes' anatomy and biology. I pursue these goals through field sampling (both living and fossil fishes), CT scanning, electron microscopy, histology, and phylogenetic analysis, among other techniques.

I teach numerous courses at Cal Poly Humboldt - almost always Evolution and Introductory Zoology.

As an alumna of Humboldt myself, I'm committed to providing hands-on lab and field opportunities for highly motivated undergraduates.

BronsonCV_July16_2024.docx

Current Students

Maritza Gamez

Graduate Student

Anatomical divergence of Klamath Catostomus populations over the last 100 years

Lucas Kebow

Graduate Student

Reproductive anatomy and glue production in Aulorhynchus flavidus

Lucas's work featured in The Lumberjack! https://thelumberjack.org/2025/05/07/fish-evolutionary-morphology-and-queerness-in-science/

Kaiden Walton

Graduate Student

Humboldt marine ichthyoplankton across space and time

Natalie Swearingen

Graduate Student

Contributions of ear morphology to resolving the elasmobranch phylogeny

Kaci Dodd

Undergraduate

Skeletal labyrinth morphology of extant chondrichthyans

Lab Alumni

Nicole Rahman Garnier

Graduate Student

Olfactory anatomy of hatchery and wild Oncorhynchus

Isamar Lopez-Argueta

Undergraduate

Skeletal labyrinth morphology of extant chondrichthyans

Patience Brennan

Undergraduate Alumna (2025)

Survey of armored fish material from Cottonwood Canyon (Beartooth Butte Fm., Early Devonian)

Jordyn Neal

Undergraduate Alumna (2022)

Now a Master's Student the FABB Lab at CSU Fullerton!

Morphology of the inner ear of extant sharks using CT scanning

Melody Tew

Master's Graduate (2023)

#cutescutes

Neural crest cell fate in white sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus

Directed Study Alumni

Preparing Cartilaginous Skeletons

Alyssa Arington, Alex Halter, Allegra Recknor, Carly Stiverson

Histology of Sturgeon Scutes

Jamie Clough and Maxwell Rivera

Shape Variation in Shark Ears

Monayjia Brown, Taylor Cawthon, Malcolm Edwards-Silva, Elyse McKinney, Ethan Nash, Angel Palomera, Madeleine Pierce, Samantha Rodrigues, Kristina Suster

Olfactory Anatomy of Taricha granulosa

Regan O'Rourke

Histology of Fish Olfactory Tissue

Kyla Fiorey

Page updated

Report abuse