Masters Research
My thesis investigated how the Pleistocene glacial cycles played an important role in genetic structure and contemporary geographic structure of the North America endemic meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus). The meadow vole is the most widely spread species in the genus Microtus, stretching across much of Alaska, Canada and the contiguous United States. It is strongly associated with mesic environments in the boreal, deciduous and coniferous forest (distribution shown to the right with sampling localities). We examined the molecular variation within this species using a multilocus approach (mtDNA & nuDNA) with range wide sampling. We assessed the phylogeographic history of M. pennsylvanicus and re-evaluated the current taxonomy. Additionally, we were interested in modern climate change and how it will impact the southern peripheral populations of widely spread mammalian species. To examine this, we are took a closer look at the final remaining peripheral population along the southern edge (M. p. dukecampbelli) in Florida. We evaluated the genetic diversity of this population and what the loss of suitable habitat would entail for this population. Read about the the meadow vole here. Undergraduate Research As an undergraduate I helped PhD student Bryan S. McLean with research regarding holarctic ground squirrels in the genus Urocitellus. We used phylogenetic analyses to better understand the patterns and tempo of specication within this genus. The findings of this study are now published in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. |
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