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Karla Alujevic (postdoc) For my PhD, I studied the evolution of complex phenotypes in wild populations and the mechanisms that organisms use to respond to changing environments. For my postdoc, I am using a large-scale transplant experiment in The Bahamas to understand how changes in thermal landscapes mediate the evolution of thermoregulatory behavior.
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Renata Pirani (postdoc) For my PhD, I investigated the evolutionary history, diversification, and biogeography of reptiles and amphibians across neotropical rainforests using genomic data. For my postdoc, I am using a multi-generational transplant experiment in Panama to understand the genetic basis of adaptation to rapid environmental change.
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Akhila Gopal (PhD student) During my Master’s at Tulane University, I developed a project looking at how lead levels in New Orleans soil affects aggression in two species of anoles. Following that, I spent a year as a research assistant and lab manager for the Gunderson Lab at Tulane conducting experiments on the acclimation capacity, heat hardening ability, and gut microbiome of anoles. For my PhD, I am interested in studying thermal physiology and adaptation of thermoregulatory behavior to climate change in Bahamian anoles.
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Guillermo Costoya (PhD student) During my undergraduate I studied rapid evolution in Trinidadian guppies. For my masters I took a theoretical approach to studying the evolution of altruism between siblings. Now, for my PhD, I will integrate my experiences in the field with theory and statistics to generalize what we learn from anoles in hopes of modelling how evolution will act in a changing world.
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Claire Williams (PhD student) I have worked on microbiomes in a variety of contexts--during my undergraduate studies I cultured previously unknown bacteria from arctic soil microbiomes, searched for novel antibiotics, and studied the effects of pesticides on the microbiomes of pollinators. During my masters, I studied longitudinal microbiome dynamics in red pandas. For my PhD, I will explore the response of the gut microbiome of anoles to climate warming and how microbes may help or hinder their hosts ability to adapt to rapid environmental change.
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Noa Ratia (PhD student) As an Erasmus student from Kristianstad, Sweden, I spent my masters measuring greenhouse gas fluxes in the wetlands of Doñana, Spain, through incubation of sediment cores. For my PhD, I plan to explore the future effects of climate change on Anolis populations. With a background in theoretical physics, I'm also interested in applying technological solutions to complex systems to help facilitate data collection and analysis.
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Samir Gulati (undergrad) I am researching 3D printing methods for building operative temperature models of ectotherms, and I'm testing these models using field data on western fence lizards in Nevada. I am also interested in the impact of climatic and genetic factors on the evolution of parity mode in squamate reptiles.
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Anna Irwin (undergrad) Anna will be working as a field assistant to our research team in The Bahamas in 2022.
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Former Lab Members
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Kristin Charles (PhD student) Kristin worked on the evolution of parity mode in fence lizards while she was in the lab.
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Dan Nicholson (PhD student, co-advised) Dan used experimental populations of lizards in Panama to understand adaptive responses of organisms to environmental change. He is now a postdoctoral researcher in Luke Frischkoff's lab at the University of Texas-Arlington.
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Colton Irons (undergrad) Colton worked on a project examining morphological evolution in brown anoles from The Bahamas when he was in the lab. Colton is now a field biologist working for WestLand Resources (an engineering and environmental services consulting firm).
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