Current LMSE Projects

Postdoctoral Fellows | LMSE Small Grants| Other Projects

LMSE Postdoctoral Fellows

Ben Torke (LMSE) (
"Diversification studies in the species-rich Neotropical tree genus Swartzia (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae)"
The major goal of this research is to understand the historical, ecological, and evolutionary mechanisms that underlie the diversifications of species-rich clades of Neotropical trees. This includes a long-term international collaborative effort to build a variety of biological datasets for the genus Swartzia, which has about 200 species distributed throughout the lowland Neotropics, particularly in rainforests. Ben Torke's research at the Academy focuses on particular clades of closely related species of Swartzia and utilizes molecular phylogenetic and phylogeographic approaches to reconstruct the timing and evolutionary histories of population divergences and speciation events.
Dr. Torke's personal website can be found at:
web.mac.com/bmtorke/iWeb/benjamintorke/Home.html
Dennis Uit de Weerd (LMSE)
"Phylogeography and evolution of the Caribbean land snail family Urocoptidae"
Its pan-Caribbean distribution and high degree of endemism, in particular in the Greater Antilles, make the land snail family Urocoptidae an ideal group for biogeographical studies in this geologically highly complex area. This project is the first large-scale molecular phylogenetic study of any Caribbean land snail family. Nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences assembled so far have revealed unexpected island-endemic clades, consisting of morphologically highly diverse genera. Similar ecological specializations and shell forms evolved independently on different islands. Geography has shaped the evolution of the family.

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LMSE-Funded Small Grants

Natalie Blake (University of the West Indies)
"Preliminary DNA sequencing of Camaenidae (Gastropoda) from Jamaica"
This is an investigation of the phylogeny and distribution of the Camaenidae of Jamaica, a family of terrestrial snails that occur in the Americas, Australia, Asia and the Pacific Islands. The acquisition of molecular data will increase the number of characters available for analysis and provide better phylogenetic resolution of the family. In many cases it is difficult to determine convincing homology among morphological characters and the DNA-based phylogeny will provide an independent basis for mapping characters and assessing homology.
Melanie Vile (Villanova University) and Nat Weston (Villanova University)
"Shifting Microbial Populations and Salinity Intrusion into Tidal Freshwater Marshes"
The goals are to extract DNA from bacterial communities from fresh and saltwater sites on the Delaware River, and to generate DNA sequence data for a sample of bacteria from each site. Ultimately, these data will be used to characterize the communities taxonomically, using the extensive database of bacterial sequences in Genbank to determine taxonomic affinities of the bacteria sequenced. This will in turn allow the identification of shifts in bacterial communities, measured by species diversity and abundance, caused by saltwater intrusion.
Anthony Geneva (LMSE)
"Getting to the bottom of molecular discord in New Caledonian Bavayia geckos (Reptilia: Diplodactylidae) and optimization of AFLP protocols for LMSE labs"
Previous investigations into the phylogeography of three Bavayia species have indicated unexpected distributions of mtDNA haplotypes relative to the known distribution and ecology of these geckos. The aim of this project is to collect a dataset of nuclear DNA fragment markers (AFLPs) to compare to the existing mtDNA phylogeny and to test the hypothesis that these unexpected individuals are member of the species to which their mtDNA below or rather the descendants of some past hybridization event. This small grant also seeks to develop a common protocol for AFLP data collection using the facilities of the LMSE.
Scott Mills (ANSP Gallagher Research Fellow)
"Regional phylogeography of Brachionus “Towerinniensis” from southwest Western Australia"
Part one of this small grant will investigate of the use of novel COI primers for rotifers designed from mitochondrial genome data provided exclusively to the Academy. Confirming the efficacy of these new primers across a range of rotifer species will warrant publication. The new primers will be tested side by side with the generic Folmer COI primers. The second part of this grant is to produce restriction enzyme assays for members of the B. plicatilis species complex from Australia, based on three genes; ITS1, COI and 16S. These assays will be used to identify a specific species, B. “Towerinniensis”, for further phylogeographic analysis.
Marina Potapova (ANSP Patrick Center for Environmental Research)
"Collecting preliminary molecular data for systematic study of the diatom genus Achnanthidium".
Achnanthidium belongs to monoraphid diatoms, which are characterized by the presence of raphe on a single valve only. Traditionally, all monoraphid diatoms have been placed in a single taxon, order Achnanthales or family Achnanthaceae. The scarcity of morphological traits makes it impossible to deduce the phylogenetic position of Achnanthidium and most of the other monoraphid genera from morphological data alone. The collection of preliminary data for a molecular systematic study of Achnanthidium is necessary to determine which molecular markers show the appropriate degree of polymorphism for genus- and species-level taxonomy, and to optimize protocols for DNA extraction, amplification, and sequencing. Such preliminary data can then be used to prepare a larger proposal involving extensive taxonomic and geographical sampling.

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LMSE Projects Funded By Other Sources

Scott Mills (ANSP Gallagher Research Fellow)
"Systematics and Phylogeography of the Brachionus plicatilis species complex"
Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA fragments will be used to elucidate phylogenetic relationships amongst rotifers of the Brachionus plicatilis complex. Traditionally considered a single cosmopolitian species but recently revealed to consist of at least 15 separate species, these rotifers are valuable as feed for larval marine finfish and marine crustacean aquaculture hatcheries. They have also been the primary subject of approximately 750 peer reviewed papers between the years 1950 and 2000. With the completion of this research, scientists around the globe will be poised to make significant inroads into aquaculture technologies and be able to test hypotheses about sympatric speciation and evolution using the B. plicatilis species complex as a model group of organisms.
Carrie Kiel (ANSP Botany) and Lucinda McDade (Rancho Santa Ana)
"Phylogenetics and Evolution of Acanthaceae"
The Acanthaceae is a diverse family of flowering plants that contains approximately 3450 species. LMSE research into the molecular systematics of the Acanthaceae includes preliminary results of the Tetramerium group, a section within the diverse Justicieae lineage. Inferences on the evolution of pollinators within this group have also become available.
Nate Rice (ANSP Ornithology)
"Ornithology Frozen Tissue Collection Upgrade"
Frank Gill and Fred Sheldon established the frozen tissue collection at the Academy nearly 20 years ago. This collection currently houses samples taken from over 13,000 birds representing over 4000 species. This collection upgrade involves the creation of a comprehensive database, the transfer of tissues into modern cryostorage tubes with archival-quality labels.
John Sullivan and Wasila Dahdul (ANSP Ichthyology)
NSF Funded All Catfish Species Project.

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