My research is involved with evaluating systematics, phylogenetics and historical biogeography of small mammals.  I am currently working on a multi-faceted project that involves three different taxonomic levels; family, genus and species.  An evaluation of the phylogenetic relationships within the rodent family Heteromyidae and an evaluation of the phylogenetic relationships within the genus Dipodomys involve standard phylogenetic techniques and analyses.  I am also working on a phylogeographic analysis of Dipodomys merriami.  This project involves evaluating the embedded phylogeographic structure (within and between populations) of a single widespread species of kangaroo rat.  To accomplish all of these goals, I use a combination of molecular phylogenetic systematics, historical biogeography, paleoecology and population genetics.  I employ a variety of molecular tools including PCR and DNA sequencing as well as a variety of tools for analyses including parsimony, likelihood, bayesian, and nested clade.  I try to reconstruct the evolutionary history of taxa and evaluate the concordance with geologic and paleoclimatic hypotheses for the regions under consideration.  This approach to understanding the combined evolutionary history of vertebrate taxa and their corresponding geographic environs contributes to a much greater understanding of the evolution of the regional ecosystem to which they belong.
 
 
 

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