Jim's primary research interests are in phylogenetics, biogeography, and comparative biology of reptiles, amphibians, and hummingbirds. His current research has three primary foci. The first involves application of phylogenetic and coalescent-based population genetic methods to Sulawesi biogeography. The second is a phylogenetic study of crotaphytid lizards, with an emphasis on the roles of introgressive hybridization and incomplete lineage sorting. Finally, he is investigating the history of high-altitude adaptation in hummingbirds, which involves species-level phylogenetics, analysis of the molecular evolution of hummingbird globin genes, and respiratory physiological studies across altitudinal gradients in the Andes and North America. See Jim's Research page for details.

Rollover - Psyched to see pristine forest on Tanahjampea Island

Matt's two main research interests are (1) methods and theory of phylogenetic reconstruction, and (2) application of these methods to questions of phylogeny, phylogeography, and evolution. On the computational and theory side, he is fascinated by advances in explicit model-based methods (likelihood and Bayesian) and has explored several aspects of these methods using computer simulations. He is very interested in the effect that improved data modeling (especially mixed-model or partitioned analyses) has on phylogenetic inference. On the organismal side, his predominant interest is in the application of phylogenies to explore not just basic evolutionary relationships, but questions of morphological evolution and historical biogeography. His main taxon of interest is Squamata (e.g., skinks, anoles, watersnakes), but is focusing on skinks of the genus Plestiodon for his dissertation research. Check out Matt's webpage for more information about his research and interests.

Rollover - Swimming for Nerodia is a shirt-free thing

Tom's research focus is on geographic variation and speciation in reptiles and amphibians of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico. He completed a Master’s degree at Louisiana State University where he examined the systematics and historical biogeography of the Western Lyresnake (Trimorphodon biscutatus) complex. For his Ph.D., he is studying divergence population genetics and isolating barriers in the Ensatina eschscholtzii complex.

Rollover - Tommy D distracted from his Ensatina studies by a couple of boring old mountain kingsnakes

Jon’s primary research interests revolve around systematics, biogeography, and conservation of reptiles and amphibians. Presently, his research focuses on endangered turtles in Asia, using molecular methods to identify cryptic species and phylogeographic patterns. A major objective of this work is to facilitate the conservation of these organisms, and to determine the impact of natural/artificial hybridization and human activity (i.e. pet and food trade). Current projects underway are: 1) Systematics of the genus Mauremys, an endangered and wide-ranging group of turtles that is found disjunctly in Europe and eastern Asia, and 2) Investigation of hybridization in Geoemydid turtles.

Rollover - Death Valley 1, Jon Fong 0

Matt is broadly interested in the evolutionary genetics of reptiles and amphibians. His dissertation focuses on the very cool gecko complex, Heteronotia binoei, which includes parthenogenetic lineages. A significant portion of his research involves a detailed analysis of large, tandem duplications in the mitochondrial genomes of these parthenogens. These duplications are interesting because they include pseudogenes, which are quite rare in vertebrate mitochondrial genomes. Matt also is delineating species boundaries in the H. binoei complex. There are several chromosomal forms scattered across the arid region of Australia, and he is using a multi-locus approach to infer their systematic relationships. For more info, check out his webpage.

Rollover - Checkin' out a Python sebae during fieldwork in Ghana

Shobi's research interests are primarily in the realm of conservation genetics. For her research, she is combining molecular systematics, evolutionary biogeography, and population genetics to identify the underlying processes affecting faunal assemblage in Indonesia, with an eye toward using that information to guide conservation policies. Shobi is focusing her current studies on several species of flying lizards (genus Draco) that occur on the Mentawai Archipelago and on adjacent Sumatra, but plans to expand her study system in the future to include other taxa and areas of Indonesia as well.

Rollover - Speciation theory takes its toll..

Adam's research is focused on phylogenetics and population genetics. For his dissertation research, he is using multilocus nuclear data to study the evolution of Sceloporus lizards. Adam maintains several active research projects, including studies focused on the phylogeny and evolution of phrynosomatid lizards, comparative phylogeography of West African herpetofauna, and comparative biogeography of Baja California. For more information, check out Adam's webpage.

Rollover - Adam makes a new friend in Nigeria

Guin is interested in (a) how spatial and temporal environmental heterogeneity act to maintain genetic and phenotypic variation in natural systems, (b) estimating historical and contemporary demographics, and (c) detecting variable/cyclic selection. She currently is investigating an Asian frog species complex (Fejervarya limnocharis) using a multi-locus approach to understand patterns of gene flow and dispersal. Further, as there are thousands of preserved museum specimens in collections, she is examining phenotypic changes through time and across space to gain insight into the evolutionary processes maintaining polymorphism and promoting diversification. For more information, check out Guin's webpage.

Rollover - Guin with king-sized Bufo

Becky received her B.A. degree in Integrative Biology from UC Berkeley in 2007 and will serve as a lab technician in the McGuire lab for one more year before continuing on to graduate school. As the basis of her research, Becky applies molecular genetic data to phylogenetic and species delimitation problems. She is leading a project investigating phylogenetics and species boundaries in Cyrtodactylus geckos. This project is focused primarily on the Sulawesi fauna, which she has discovered to be composed of many cryptic species. Her email address is: rchong at berkeley.edu.

Rollover - Becky and friend (Crotalus mitchellii) in Mojave