Research

It has become increasingly clear that many animal phenotypes are not shaped only by their own genomes but also by the microbiota that live in and on their bodies. Because microbiomes can influence phenotypes and be heritable, microbiomes can shape host evolution in important ways. I am currently exploring this idea in Panamanian slender anoles (Anolis apletophallus) using an experimental island transplant system in the Panama canal. 

For my dissertation, we collected lizards and exposed them to rapid environmental change by translocating them to islands which are hotter, more thermally variable, and had different ecologies than the mainland. By tracking the survival of individuals within and across generations, I am able to monitor how selection acts on both host traits and microbiome compositions. 

Life on earth is incredibly diverse. So too are the strategies organisms use to survive and deal with the challenges they face. Many animal species have evolved close relationships with the microbes that live in and on them, creating complex partnerships that can benefit both the host and their microbial hitchhikers. However, many animals seem to have little-or-no reliance on their microbial communities. They might tolerate hosting microbiota, but don't necessarily depend on them. Dr. Samantha Fontaine and I dubbed this the "Microbial Dependence Continuum" and described the concept and ways to test it in our 2024 paper.

One way that we might test how important particular microbes are for a given host is by looking at the stability of the gut microbiome between individuals and over time. Dr. Candace Williams and I did this by comparing three species of animal with very different dietary strategies: rhinos, tigers, and red pandas. We found that rhinos, a species known to rely on their microbes for degradation of plant materials in their diet, hosted highly consistent microbiota among individuals that responded to seasonal variation in consistent ways. I'm excited about expanding these studies to more species, and have been delving into the stability and role of the gut microbiome in lizards during my PhD to characterize where they fall on this spectrum. 

I am fascinated by the diversity of microbial life. Microbes can survive effectively everywhere on earth, from the inside of our guts, to the inhospitable environments of hot, bubbling geysers. 

With Dr. Brittany Berdy, I worked on characterizing some of these microbes from the High Arctic in Greenland. We cultured bacteria with fascinating and beautiful phenotypes using a range of approaches. Our recent paper describes our findings, and provides a resource to microbiologists working to uncover the yet uncovered microbial diversity on earth. 

I'm currently working on analyzing high quality genomes of bacteria found in lizard gut, to garner insights into the unique biology of these microbes.