Laboratory focus

Our research is dedicated to describing invertebrate biodiversity from the aquatic and microscopic (rotifers, gastrotrichs) to the terrestrial and macroscopic (whipscorpions, whipsiders) and everything in between, including a variety of parasites (ticks, mites, mosquitoes). Together we describe new species, explore their evolution, and define their functional roles in the environment. We use a variety of methods and technologies to explore these topics including DIC microscopy, histology, histochemistry, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, focused ion beam SEM, and molecular sequencing. 

There are generally multiple projects occurring simultaneously in the lab at any one time, and many of the projects are entirely unrelated. We are currently exploring rotifer biodiversity and evolution, gastrotrich anatomy and ultrastructure, arachnid cuticle histochemistry, and whip scorpion behavior. 

The rotifer Trichocerca similis. I had fun on the TEM trying to figure out the structure of its retrocerebral organ (seen on right).

Beautiful little species of Synchaeata (Rotifera) from Locust pond in Massachusetts.