We are harnessing the power of low and high throughput phenotyping, natural history collections, genomics, and computational biology to understand the nature of species and study the process of speciation.

current projects:

• The nature of species and evolution of Escallonia in the Neotropical mountains.

• Evolution of the annual desert Linanthus. [Ioana Anghel's dissertation research]

We are studying how geological, climatic, and ecological events influence the (adaptive) divergence and persistence of plant lineages, from populations to clades.

current projects:

• The last interglacial and red mangroves in the Yucatan Peninsula. [In collaboration with Exequiel Ezcurra, Paula Ezcurra, Carlos B Ramos, and Octavio Aburto]

• Volcanism and island ontogeny in the radiation of island plants. [In collaboration with Michael Landis, Warren Wagner, Nina Rønsted, Bruce Baldwin, and Will Freyman]

Integrating genomics, population biology, and ecophysiology, we are studying the ecology and evolution of plant radiations.

current projects:

• Encelia: a remarkable radiation of shrubs in the American deserts. [In collaboration with Sonal Singhal, Adam Roddy, and Chris DiVittorio]

• Evolution of prickly pear cactus in the Galapagos. [In collaboration with Gonzalo Rivas, Jaime Chaves, and John McCormack]

By comparing functional data (e.g., genomics, phenotypes) across multiple tissues, organs, species, and environmental gradients, we are leveraging "natural evolutionary experiments” to connect molecules to ecology and learn about the causes and consequences of functional diversity on survival, form, and function.

current projects:

• Evolution of wild buckwheats across extreme environments in the Mojave desert

We are building the computational infrastructure to integrate the rich specimen-based data that serve as the basis of taxonomic monographs and other biodiversity research.

current projects:

• DynaMo: an automated workflow for dynamic monographs (and more)