Current Research
Graduate Research at Rice University
I am currently completing my PhD at Rice University in Dr. Scott Egan’s Lab. I continue to work on a broad range of projects, but my thesis focuses on the genetic and environmental factors that influence life history traits and in particular reproductive timing in a rare long-term dataset of smallmouth bass.
Smallmouth Bass Life History
Smallmouth bass are economically important for recreational fishing in their native range and ecologically impactful as an invasive species in their non-native range, so understanding the factors that influence their reproduction has multifaceted significance. There is great variation in when smallmouth bass first mate, and I am researching how this decision relates to individual size and energetic constraints. I also am investigating how parents are able to influence the reproductive phenotype of their offspring, both through the genetic heritability of reproductive traits and through parental-environmental effects.
Tiger Beetle Speciation
Tiger beetles are a phenotypically and genetically diverse, comprising some 3,000 species across the entire globe. I study the phylogenomics and phylogeography of the species local to the gulf coast.
Fossil Fish in the Desert
Ancient lineages of extinct fish that diverged early from the lineages of fish that live today can provide insights into fish evolution. I am working to describe novel fossils of freshwater fish discovered in Niger, Africa.