Phillips Lab of Biodiversity Genomics
The Phillips lab seeks to understand patterns and processes underlying speciation and diversification. In particular, we address several key questions:
-What are the causes and consequences of speciation and biodiversity?
-How does biodiversity manifest in isolated systems? (islands, mountains, caves)
-How connected are the cave and aquifer systems in Georgia and Florida? (e.g. if you are a salamander!)
-How does connectivity/lack thereof impact speciation in the southeastern US?
We are also excited to explore various evolutionary and ecological phenomena (especially in a genomic context) as members of the lab have worked on diverse animals including reptiles, amphibians, fishes, and mollusks! If you are interested in any of our work, please reach out!
Look below at some of our research projects.
Biogeography of the southeastern US
The Phillips Lab is interested in understanding the nexus between evolution and ecology. In particular, how do organisms evolve across a landscape? What factors dictate speciation or lack thereof? To do this in our own backyard, we will explore biogeographic patterns in the southeastern United States, utilizing field sites near Valdosta!
Biodiversity in South American snails
We use snails as a model to understand speciation and community evolution. In particular, the Phillips lab utilizes South American land snails in the superfamily Orthalicoidea as they display an amazing diversity in shape, size, and color. This work is being done in collaboration with the Uyeno Lab at VSU and the Parent Lab at the University of Idaho.
Conservation Genetics of Cave Fauna
Myraid threats face many taxa in our present global biodiversity crisis. In particular, species that are adapted to cave environments are highly susceptible to many disturbances and are in danger of extirpation before we even know the full extent of their natural history. In the Phillips Lab, we use population genetics and phylogeography to study these species and address their conservation needs.
In particular, we are interested in exploring the biodiversity of the Upper Floridan Aquifer here in Georgia (and northern Florida). This underexplored region is home to several enigmatic subterranean organisms like the Georgia Blind Salamander and the Dougherty Plain Cave Crayfish.
Anuran Acoustics
In collaboration with the Grabarcyzk lab at VSU, we have a strong Anuran Acoustics team. We are interested in understanding variation in acoustic communication in frogs and toads in correspondence with ecological and anthropogenic factors such as noise, light, water quality, and predators.
We are also working to develop machine-learning models to better detect declining species like the Gopher Frog and Ornate Chorus Frog.
