Ongoing research topics:

- Model-based population genomics

     Our research in this area employs population genomic analyses to reconstruct the evolutionary trajectories of species, evaluate their contribution to present-day population genetic structure, and identify potential reservoirs of adaptive variation. We place particular emphasis on the idiosyncratic nature of species’ responses to environmental change. Current model systems include small Neotropical terrestrial mammals from the Andes and granivorous mammals from the Appalachian Plateau. Collectively, these studies seek to elucidate the conditions under which climate-driven range shifts foster differentiation versus precipitate extinction.

- Conservation genomics

     Through population and landscape genomic approaches, our research aims to generate actionable insights for the management of species of conservation concern while advancing conceptual and methodological frameworks to address urgent conservation challenges. Our overarching objective is to assess how contemporary environmental pressures—including climate change, invasive species, urbanization, and habitat fragmentation—shape adaptive potential and to evaluate the risk of maladaptation arising from mismatches between species’ traits and their environments. Current focal systems include small terrestrial mammals undergoing climate-driven range shifts, invasive Colombian hippos, and expanding meso-carnivores in the Midwest.

- Biogeography and systematics of tropical Andean small mammals

     As a striking example of a rapid radiation within a major biodiversity hotspot, small tropical Andean mammals provide an exceptional system for elucidating the role of environmental heterogeneity in the generation and maintenance of diversity. In pursuing this question, we address the persistent Linnean and Wallacean shortfalls that hinder understanding of this group. By integrating genomic, morphological, and ecological analyses—and drawing on both our own field collections and the extensive resources of natural history museums—we are advancing the characterization of species composition and genetic diversity in these mammals.

- Bioinformatic advances:

     A central component of our research program is the development of methodological innovations and computational tools that unlock the potential of geo-referenced genomic data for advancing eco-evolutionary studies in non-model organisms. Our efforts include simulation-based frameworks and inferential approaches for reconstructing historical demography, as well as analytical pipelines for the efficient processing of genomic data. Specific examples include algorithms for identifying the geographic origin of sequential range expansions or quantifying the evolutionary lability of species interactions, and software for robust metagenomic analyses of diet.

Images of our work: