Research
Investigating fundamental questions about the mechanisms of speciation across micro- and macro-evolutionary scales.
Chemical Communication & Reproductive Isolation
What are the roles and timing of sexual signal divergence and ecological differentiation in reproductive isolation and speciation? Using the adaptive radiation of Hawaiian Tetragnatha spiders, I investigate the role of chemical sexual signals in species recognition and how these chemicals play a role in attaining and maintaining reproductive isolation in closely related lineages.
Spatial Connectivity & Signal Evolution
How do sexual signals play a role in the speciation and reproductive isolation of lineages across a large geographic scale with higher gene flow? By pairing whole-genome sequencing with chemical analysis of spiders across California's diverse ecoregions, we contrast continental signal variation with island patterns to understand how geographic scale governs divergence.
Chemical Architecture & Evolution
What are the underlying biochemical and genetic mechanisms that generate chemical signal diversity? Structural elucidation of long-chain alkyl methyl ethers reveals that chemical signals evolve through discrete, modular changes in chain length and branching, suggesting the use of conserved enzymatic pathways across Tetragnatha spiders that mirrors that of insects.
Species Discovery & Integrative Taxonomy
How do we uncover and protect biodiversity in an era of rapid environmental change? By pairing traditional morphological description with modern phylogenomics, geometric morphometrics, and chemical analysis, I describe cryptic species boundaries and document newly discovered arachnid diversity across the Pacific.