research

Can microbes drive insect evolution?

Many insects have communities of microorganisms—bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses—living inside of their bodies. I am interested in how these microbial communities may have facilitated diversification in insects.

Pogonomyrmex: a granivorous ant

My current research focuses on harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex). These ants get their common name from their seed foraging and storing behaviors. Seed feeding is rare in ants—out of about 12,000 ant species, only around 150 are known to consume seeds.

A seed-diet microbiome?

The granivorous diet of Pogonomyrmex may be being facilitated by the ant's gut microbiome. I aim to better understand these microbial communities and determine what role they may have played in the evolution of granivorous diets in Pogonomyrmex, other seed-feeding ants, and even other insect species.

Evolution and biogeography

Additionally, I am interested in the evolution and biogeography of Pogonomyrmex. The two main populations of harvester ants in North America and South America are geographically isolated and share no species in common. I am interested in the genus's evolution, and how the current species ranges were shaped through evolutionary time.