evanwcarson.com

My research is focused on population genetics, phylogenetics, and the evolutionary diversification of desert fishes, especially pupfishes (Cyprinodon). This work primarily involves application of molecular approaches (analyses with mitochondrial and various nuclear DNA markers) to understand how the interaction of environmental and genetic variation is related to evolutionary diversification, especially in cases involving introgressive hybridization. Because many desert fishes are imperiled, much of my research incorporates analyses crucial to effective conservation, including measurement of genetic diversity and effective population size. Although the core of my research program relies on application of population genetic methods, I also place a premium on fieldwork because there is no remote substitute for a first-hand appreciation of the organisms one studies and the habitats and landscapes in which they occur.