Research

Phylogeographic meta-analyses

We are currently working on several projects that aim to initiate global meta-analyses that leverage genetic, geographic, and environmental data collected by thousands of existing studies. We have aggregated several large datasets, containing georeferenced sequence data for over 18,000 species and georeferenced environmental data for over 150,000 species, from fungi, animals, and plants. This work is currently being funded by the National Science Foundation (DBI-1911293) and is in collaboration with the Carstens Lab at Ohio State University. Check out our website for this project: phylogatR.

eDNA in southwest Virginia

The Mountain Valley Pipeline is a 303-mile natural gas pipeline that is planned to cross more than 1000 water bodies from West Virginia to Virginia. In collaboration with Jamie Lau (RU Biology) and Kristina Stefaniak (RU Chemistry), we are assessing the impacts of this pipeline on biodiversity using environmental DNA collected from the streams, in conjunction with traditional field sampling, water chemistry, and measures of the physical habitat. This work has been funded by the RU Seed Grant Program and the Jeffress Memorial Trust.

Gene annotations

The GEP (genomics education partnership) is a nationwide collaboration of 100+ institutions that integrates active learning into the undergraduate curriculum through Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) centered in bioinformatics and genomics. Students claim gene annotation projects to submit as part of a larger research project that aims to understand the function and evolution of genes from metabolic and signaling pathways.

Species delimitation

Lead by members of the Virginia Herpetological Society, with Matt Close (RU Biology) and Bob Sheehy (RU Biology), we are assessing species limits in the Eastern Ratsnake in Virginia.

The Appalachian Mountains contain the highest levels of salamander diversity than anywhere in the world yet, many do not contain any obvious morphological, ecological, or physiological differences. We are using transcriptome data to uncover species level signatures in skin secretions in Plethodon salamanders.

PASSER project

Welcome to the world of digital behavioral ecology! Lead by Jason Davis (RU Biology) and Sarah Foltz (RU Biology), this work combines traditional behavioral biology with modern computer engineering to map interactions between the environment and songbird behavior, ultimately helping us understand how global climate affects the birds around us. Check out videos from one of the feeders here and here.

Phylogeographic methods development

In order to fully understand the complex processes shaping current biodiversity patterns, we need to first understand our data to the best of our ability. We are working with the Carstens Lab at OSU to develop tools that use posterior predictive simulation to check how well datasets containing both sequence data and SNPs fit a series of commonly used models in population genetics. We will extend this work to explore the use of the GMYC on metabarcoding data.

Spatial sorting

Spatial sorting - assortative mating over geographic space - results in the evolution of morphological characteristics associated with dispersal ability at range edges. Based on previous results in P. vehiculum from the PNW, we are developing projects that combine genomic, environmental, morphological, and direct dispersal data from various salamander species that are widespread and have experienced range expansion due to either climate change or introduction. The goal is to identify landscape processes and environmental pressures that influence dispersal, and the genetic and phenotypic characters associated with dispersal, in salamanders.