Research Interests
A classic paper by Hutchinson asked, "why are there so many species?" The goal of my research and teaching is to illuminate how processes of diversification operate in natural communities. What determines how many species are in an area, and how are they related evolutionarily? This is a difficult problem for both basic research as well as practical reasons. For example, no satisfactory evolutionary explanation exists for the latitudinal gradient in species diversity seen in so many taxa and communities, and understanding this problem may inform our approaches to conserving biodiversity in the face of global climate change. Some of the problems I'm currently working on include the evolutionary dynamics of isolated populations (e.g., the use of genealogical approaches to understand microevolution in the endangered Gila trout), the reconstruction of the population dynamics of recent range expansions (including Holocene expansions as well as putative species introductions), and using molecular methods to track larval movement in marine and freshwater species that depend on nearshore physical oceanography (or riparian hydrography) to maintain ecological and evolutionary cohesion between distant regions. This work is applicable to the management of threatened populations, the design of reserves and protected areas, as well as our understanding of global climate change. It also satisfies my basic impulse to understand the natural history of the organisms that surround me. To accomplish the goals of my lab, I work with creative people who believe in open collaboration and who are attentive to the work of their colleagues - we only open new doors if we are looking for integrative solutions to problems.