David L. Reed (PI)  My work focuses on host/parasite coevolution.  Lately, I've been driven by questions relating to the extent with which we can infer host evolutionary history simply by studying their host-specific parasites.  For example, human head and body lice show a population expansion coinciding with that of their modern human hosts about 100,000 years ago.  Might we be able to use human lice to learn more about human migrations such as the Peopling of the Americas?

This interest has led to new studies of co-demography and DNA sequence simulations that permit us to determine how human parasites have responded to their human hosts.

Candace McCaffery (Collection Manager).  Candace is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Mammal Collection.  If you’d like to visit the collection, or if you wish to borrow any material, she is the one to contact. 

Laurie Wilkins (Research Associate).   Laurie is working on both research and education/outreach projects.  She has studied our extensive collection of Florida Panthers to evaluate diet and health in this highly inbred and dwindling population.  Her research investigates the all-too common bone abnormalities that afflict these large cats.  Laurie and Dr. Reed recently received a grant from the University of Florida International Center to teach a new field course in Costa Rica entitled "Conservation and sustainability in Costa Rica."  The funds will help pay for Costa Rican instructors (scientists and other stakeholders) to come to the field site to teach.  This course will be taught on a newly developed site on the Osa Penninsula that hopes to provide eco-friendly tourism that has a very low impact on the environment (Cerro Osa Farm). We will use the course (hopefully yearly) to help them assess their impact.    

Jessica E. Light (Postdoc).  Jessica’s research interests include phylogenetics and population genetics of mammals and parasites.  She am particularly interested in investigating cospeciation between mammals and their parasites to determine which factors are important in driving the association between these distantly related taxa.  She is now an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University.

Julie Allen.  I am interested in understanding how animals have evolved over time.  In particular, animals that must rely on other organisms like parasites and mutualists.  I answer questions about these organisms on two levels.  First, I look at deeper evolutionary relationships between thee parasites and compare those with the evolutionary relationships of their hosts.  Here we ask questions about how closely these animals have coevolved with their hosts.  However, we know that these patterns are the result of processes that are happening at the population level.  Therefore, second, I am interested in population level interactions; for example, how these parasites move from host to host and how the behavior of a host affects the parasite.

Melissa Toups (Ph.D. student).  Melissa studied host/parasite co-demography and co-evolution in my lab.  She has two manuscripts that she’s working up now on the microsats that she developed for human lice, and a manuscript using clothing lice to explore hypotheses of clothing use in early hominids.  She is now a PhD student in Matt Hahn’s lab at Indiana.   

Angelo Soto-Centeno (PhD student, Dept. of Biology).  I am a native Puertorriqueño who is thrilled about bats, islands, population genetics, phylogeography, species distribution modeling, and the application of computer software to solve population level evolutionary problems. I am keen in understanding the processes that characterize insular bat populations and species. I use population genetic and phylogenetic approaches under a molecular and coalescent framework to study processes that influence bat population and species diversity. Also, I am interested in the geographic features that shape populations in current and historical timelines. I use of Geographic Information Systems and Species Distribution Models as tools for generating population level hypotheses to test geographic barriers to geneflow as well as comparing predicted distributions at the population level. My work with bats on the West Indies dates back to the mid 90’s.

Tamar Carter (undergrad researcher, University Scholars Program).  Tamar worked on a number of project in our lab as an undergraduate, and present her research at the SMBE meetings in Barcelona, Spain in 2008.  She was recently awarded an NSF Predoctoral Fellowship, and is now enrolled in the Genetics Graduate Program at UF studying molecular anthropology with Connie Mulligan. 

Simon Rycroft.  Programmer (BioCorder).  Simon was a programmer for the NSF-funded BioCorder project. He is now working with Vincent Smith at the British Natural History Museum on the Sketchpad project.  

Matt Collins.  Lead Programmer (BioCorder).  Matt was the lead programmer and project manager for the NSF-funded BioCorder project.  BioCorder serves a few functions.  It acts as a Lab Information Management System (LIMS) for work done in the molecular lab, but it also helps specimen-based biologists by linking work done in the molecular lab back to the original specimens collected.  BioCorder also serves to foster collaboration among geographically distant labs by allowing collaborators to have real-time access to the same data.

Lauren Long.  Lauren was an undergraduate working on numerous projects in the molecular lab.  She is now a graduate student in wetlands here at UF.

Nithya V.  Nithya was a programmer for the BioCorder project, and a graduate student from the CISE Dept. 

Kier Ancona.  Kier worked in the mammal collections for many years as both a volunteer and as a paid curatorial assistant.  Kier recently graduated with a M.S. in Biology from the Dept. of Biology at Valdosta State University

Olga L. Montenegro.  Olga worked for us during her time as a PhD student in UF's Dept. of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation.  She helped acquire latitude/longitude coordinates for the mammal collection, and is now a professor in her home country of Colombia.

Emerita Ricci.  Emer helped get the lab up and running when I first moved to Gainesville. She learned how to do DNA extractions, PCR, and cloning within a semester and was instrumental in getting the first bits of data in the new lab. Last I heard she was in Raleigh.

Sonia Cavanelli.  Sonia too worked for us during her PhD program in the Dept. of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation.  She also helped us to calculate latitude/longitude coordinates for the mammal collection. 

Shelly Flanagin (undergraduate researcher). 

Jorge Pino (PhD student, Reed/Phelps Labs, Dept. of Biology).  My research focuses on the singing mice of Mexico and Central America.  Specifically, I am examining the phylogeography of the genus (Scotinomys) and investigating patterns of gene flow.  These mice are very interesting because the two species are known to segregate based on elevation, and the habitat that they live in seems to be very heterogenious throughout their distribution.  I’m using a combination of molecular markers and GIS modeling to better understand how genes are moving between populations over this complex landscape. 

Judit Ungvari-Martin (undergraduate research, Dept. of Zoology).  Judit worked on several projects with Julie Allen.  She was recently awarded an NSF Predoctoral Fellowship for her research, and is a PhD student in Scott Robinson’s lab at UF.

Greg Traub.  Programmer (BioCorder).  Greg was a programmer for the NSF-funded BioCorder project.   

Lisa Barrow (University Scholars Program, now at FSU).  Her research investigated the Southeastern Pocket Gopher, which is a species that was instrumental in staring the field of phylogeography (Avise, 1979).  This species occurs in two forms that have a large genetic break at the Apalachicola and Flint Rivers.  We are using mtDNA collected from museum skins to examine this species throughout its range, including isolated populations that are now completely extirpated and exist only in the Mammal Collection.  In addition,  she used using niche modeling to determine whether the two genetic lineages have distinctly different fundamental niches.   She was recently awarded an NSF Predoctoral Fellowship and is in the Ph.D. program at FSU in the Moriarty Lemmon Lab.

Carson Phillips (PhD student, Reed/Robinson Labs).  My research interest focuses on the ecology and evolution of parasites and infectious diseases. More specifically, I am driven by questions surrounding how anthropogenic alterations (e.g., dams, deforestation for agriculture) affect the parasite’s epidemiology on a landscape scale.  I am also interested in how human disturbance and urbanization affects the parasite community among nonhuman primates, as well as other mammals. In addition to my research, I will incorporate a broader impact component that will address science illiteracy and conservation awareness by making it palatable and approachable to both children and adults. 

Kristin Magrini (undergraduate researcher).  Kristin started in the lab last year, and has been working on virtually every project we have going at the moment.  However, she is leading a research project looking at measures of gene flow among island populations of a common Caribbean bat (Mexican free-tailed bat, Tadarida brasiliensis).

Kyle Finn. My primary project in the mammal range focuses on processing Florida Panthers (Puma concolor coryi) we receive from FWC for placement into the collection.  I am eager to start a morphometric study of the panthers in our collection using CT scanning. My goal is to quantify the extent of morphometric alterations induced by the genetic out-breeding with Texas female panthers   My other projects include curating various taxa (currently Gray Squirrels (Sciurus carolensis), preparing study skins, and cleaning a collection of bobcat (Lynx rufus) and North American river otter skulls (Lontra canadensis) from the 1980s.

Sergio Gonzalez.  Sergio is working on a number of undergraduate research projects associated with his University Scholars Award.  But, he is also looking at Niche Modeling as a tool to explore phylogeography around a common phylogeographic break in the southeastern US. 

Chelsey Spirson.  My research takes advantage of specimens of Key Largo Woodrats (Neotoma floridana smalli) in the Mammal Collection that were collected in the 1950s.  I’ve taken skin snips from these specimens and typed 15 microsatellite loci, which I am comparing to the living population in Key Largo today.  Although all of the analyses are not complete, we see that there has been some loss of genetic diversity over the last 50 years, but not nearly as much as might have been predicted. 

Karen Olson.  One of the unknown questions relating to the Key Largo Woodrats mentioned above, is how much gene flow is there between this isolated island population and the mainland population in peninsular Florida?  The considerable geographic distance separating Key Largo from the nearest mainland population has caused researchers to assume that gene flow has been non-existent in modern times.  This is a testable hypothesis using specimens already housed in the Mammal Collection, and will be the focus of my research in the Reed Lab. 

Roberto Quinonez (Preparator). 

Pedro Mendez (Research Associate).  Pedro recently finished his M.S. at Oxford studying neotropical primatology.  You can read about his current research here. 

Katie Scholl.  I am an undergraduate majoring in art history and anthropology originally from Key West, Florida. I am currently working on a University Scholars project to determine the genetic structure of parasite populations of a species of sucking louse (Pedicinus badii) that parasitizes Red Colobus monkeys in Uganda. We are looking to see how the structure of the host populations impacts the genetic structure of the parasite. I am currently developing a microsatellite library by searching 454 sequence data from the parasite for microsatellites.

Catalina Rivadeneira (M.S. student, School of Natural Resources and the Environment).  I am studying the genetic change in two populations of Florida Mice (Podomys floridanus) separated in time by 50 years.  We have typed microsatellite loci from populations in the 1950s, 1980s,  and 2000s, thanks to collections in the Florida Museum of Natural History.  This effectively lets us go back in time to examine the population genetics of historical populations, and look at how those populations have changed over the last 50 years.  This is especially important when land-use changes have been dramatic as they have been during the last 50 years in the state of Florida. 

Bret Boyd (PhD student, UF Genetics Institute).  Human head and clothing lice (Pediculus humanus) are able to persist on nutrient-poor mammalian blood with the help of an obligate endosymbiotic bacterium (Rieisa pediculicola).  This endosymbiont has a very small, but otherwise typical, single chromosomal genome, but it also has a small plasmid that is interesting from an evolutionary perspective.  The plasmid has a few necessary housekeeping genes on it, but it also has a significant portion of the genes required to make vitamin B5 for its insect host.  This appears to be a highly efficient means of producing what the host requires.  I’m investigating the evolutionary history of the plasmid among species of primate lice to determine the extent of horizontal versus vertical transmission of this highly specialized symbiont plasmid.

Marina S. Ascunce (PhD, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina). My research interests focus on broad questions in evolution and ecology, specifically those regarding the processes that drive biological diversity in social groups, populations and species, as well as in host-parasite interactions.

In the Reed lab I am working with a fascinating organism: the human head louse. This macroparasite is a highly specialized blood-sucking insect that completes its entire life cycle on the human head. Over millions of years this closed association has led to coevolution in which louse diversification parallels that of humans. Therefore, we can use louse molecular data to infer the evolutionary history of lice and also of their human hosts. To analyze a large number of louse genetic markers I developed a set of multiplex-microsatellite assays. Thanks to a large international collaborative effort we collected more than 1,000 lice worldwide for genotyping. Stay tuned, more coming up soon.

Gebreyes Kassu.  I’ve been studying the genetics of human parasites and symbiotic bacteria that live within them.  Specifically, we are looking to see what influence symbionts have had on the evolution of a human louse parasite.  Most of my work involves lots and lots of PCR looking for signs of certain bacteria such as Wolbachia. 

Jackie Fane.  I am a biology major in my third year of undergrad. I am really interested in medicine and how the human body works and I plan on going to medical school after graduation. I am currently working on a  project involving the evolution of human lice and how that might relate to the evolution of humans.  I have been investigating two deeply divergent lineages of lice that both occur on living humans.  They are really old, and share a common ancestor about a million years ago.  I am trying to learn whether these lice are geographically clustered around the world. 

Daphna Shaw.  I am a 4th year Biology student originally from Tampa, Florida. I am interested in avian sexual selection, particularly factors that promote extra-pair paternity (EPP) in certain species. My current project is in conjunction with Dr. Robinson from the Ordway Lab and Dr. Reed from the Molecular Mammalogy Lab at the Florida Museum of Natural History. My goal is to determine if high territory density and inbreeding avoidance contribute to the presence of EPP in a Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) population present on the UF campus. Funding for my project is made possible through the University Scholars Program and the Wilson Ornithological Society. After I earn my B.S. degree in May 2011, I plan to attend medical school (location still unknown). My career aspirations include becoming a pediatric physician. I really enjoy volunteering and spending time with my family and friends.

Ty Christian.  I studied brocket deer in Panama with Jorge Pino in association with UF’s PIRE program.  Its an NSF-funded program to promote international research, in this case, in Panama. 

Melina Marte.  I’m working with Angelo Soto-Centeno and Dr. Reed studying bats in the Caribbean.  I’m ready to begin my honor’s thesis research, but haven’t nailed down the project just yet.  So, stay tuned...

Ariel Toloza.  Ariel is visiting the lab from Argentina.  He works in the laboratory of María Inés Piccolo studying insecticide resistance in head lice.  He is learning new molecular skills in our lab, and we are collaborating with Ariel and Maria to determine what constitutes a “population” of head lice in Buenos Aires. 

Mary Luz is visiting from Panama.  She is learning some new molecular skills in the lab, such as DNA extraction, PCR, and DNA sequencing.  She is helping Jorge with some of his ongoing work on Singing Mice while she is here.