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Research
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Pitviper Research
Pitvipers have been my research
focus since graduate school and I am interested in all aspects
of their biology. Although, I spend most of my time studying
their evolutionary history, biogeography and investigating
evolutionary patterns using
phylogeny. We have several projects going on in the lab dealing
with many different groups of pitvipers, and at different
evolutionary levels (populations to intergeneric). Pitvipers
are an excellent group of organisms to test various molecular
evolutionary phenomena and test phylogenetic methods. |
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Coralsnakes
In collaboration with Eric
Smith, Jonathon Campbell and Todd Castoe we are investigating
the evolutionary history and biogeography of New and Old
World coral snakes. Coralsnakes represent an  extraordinary
radiation of highly venomous, brightly colored snakes that
occur through Asia and the Americas. The phylogenetic relationships
of these snakes, however, are poorly known, and their taxonomy
is chaotic. This project will investigate the evolutionary
relationships ofcoralsnakes through the collection and analysis
of a multigenomic (nuclear and mitochondrial DNA) and morphological
character dataset encompassing nearly all coralsnake taxa.
Results will be utilized to guide taxonomic amendments at
the species and genus levels. In addition to resolving the
currently chaotic state of coralsnake taxonomy, this work
will explore theoretical and practical issues of combining
and analyzing diverse phylogenetic characters to solve systematic
questions. Also, this work will provide a strong evolutionary
framework for future coralsnake research and establish a
rich morphological and molecular database for coralsnakes
from which to launch future studies on natural history,
mimicry, venom evolution, therapeutics, and clinical research.
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Marine Turtle Research
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 Indian
River Lagoon
We are investigating the genetic
diversity and population structure of a large population of
juvenile loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green sea
turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the Indian River Lagoon
on the east coast of Central Florida. Our results indicate
that juvenile loggerheads from nesting beaches throughout
all of Florida, Mexico, the Caribbean, and possibly the Mediterranean
use the Indian River Lagoon system as a developmental habitat.
We have also collaborated on
a juvenile green turtle research project which indicates that
juvenile green turtles in the Indian River Lagoon recruit
from nesting beaches throughout the Caribbean, Brazil, Surinam,
and the Western cape of Africa. Our research has clearly shown
that the Indian River Lagoon is an important developmental
habitat for marine turtles around the world. |
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Marine Turtles in the Middle
East
We have recently started an
investigation of the genetic composition of a large population
of nesting marine turtles in the Sultanate of Oman on the
southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. This work is
being conducted by my graduate student Joshua Reece and is
in collaboration with the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,
and Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat, Oman. On a mere 14
kilometer stretch of beach on a small island just off the
coast of Oman, there are more nesting loggerhead turtles than
in all of North America, Central America, South America and
the Mediterranean combined! Our research focuses primarily
on the incredible loggerhead nesting  aggregations
and the sizable green turtle nesting populations distributed
along Oman's coasts and near-shore Islands. Much of the sampling
is done on remote nesting beaches, some of which are only
accessible by boat or helicopter. This research is an excellent
opportunity to study large nesting populations in relatively
unspoiled habitat. |
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