People
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Jeremy M. Beaulieu
jmbeauli@uark.edu Principal Investigator My research is mainly focused on applying large phylogenies to comparative data to better understand broad patterns across flowering plants. My initial interest in this area involved compiling large datasets of plant functional traits to uncover physiological, ecological, and evolutionary associations with genome size. More recently, I have been developing new approaches to large tree construction and new comparative methods to gain insights into the evolution of the Campanulidae (i.e., campanulids, or the clade formerly known as the "asterids II"), a large flowering plant clade comprised of some 35,000 species. By combining biogeographic history with morphological character information my hope is to better understand patterns of lineage diversification and its consequences on the distribution of biodiversity. Google scholar. CV is here. Daniel Caetano dcaetano@uark.edu Postdoctoral researcher Daniel is an evolutionary biologist interested in phylogenetic comparative methods of trait evolution. The main driver of his research is to evaluate and develop novel ways to investigate the evolution of complex phenotypes applied across the tree of life in a variety of biological systems. His recent work involves comparative methods for multivariate data, multilayered phenotypes and fitting predictor functions to macroevolutionary patterns. Link to Daniel's website is here. James Boyko jboyko@email.uark.edu PhD. student, started Fall 2017 He is interested in applying information theory to common phylogenetic comparative methods to quantify the limits of our knowledge. Many debates in evolutionary biology are centered around what an ancestral species looked like or how it lived. These debates are difficult to resolve because as lineages evolve through time, they accumulate changes that distinguish them from their ancestor. Often, evolutionary biologists will use Markov models to emulate this process of continual change. Information loss in an evolutionary Markov model can be quantified by asking how much initial uncertainty has been reduced after the addition of information. Katy Dupree kedupree@email.uark.edu PhD. student, started Fall 2018 Currently, Katy is interested in studying trait evolution in flowering plants. More specifically, she is interested in identifying traits affecting the differential success of invasive plant species relative to their native counterparts. In identifying characteristic traits of successful invasive plants across the genus and family scale, we can better understand what makes a successful invader, inform management practices, and better identify future invasive species before they become a problem. Link to Katy's website is here. Eric Hagen erhagen@email.uark.edu PhD. student, started Fall 2018 Peter Hasik pbhasik@email.uark.edu MSc. student, started Spring 2018 Andrew Palmer aspalmer@email.uark.edu Undergraduate Researcher Andrew is an undergraduate majoring in Biology and Sociology. His current work focuses on geographic range modeling for an invasive honeysuckle, Lonicera maackii, which is taking over the forests around Fayetteville. |
