Research interests: Integration of phylogenetic and ecological research to provide insight into general questions of the patterns and processes of biodiversity.

Research Interests: The phylogenetics of Myrmicine ants, focusing on the genus Aphaenogaster.  I am looking at the fulva-rudis-texana complex of this genus in North America and hope to untangle it using modern systematics and molecular tools.

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Rachel Olson - PhD Student

Research interests:

Research interests: My research interests are broadly centered on questions relating to biodiversity; including revisionary systematics, biogeography, evolutionary ecology, and speciation within the family Tenebrionidae. In particular, I am interested in a tribe of flightless desert dwelling tenebrionids known as asidines. For my dissertation I am revising the North American Asidini, at the generic level, and working on species level revisions for several asidine genera (Astrotus, Stenosides, Parasida, etc). My goal is to use modern phylogenetic methods to create a phylogeny for the tribe that will help guide my revisionary work.

Research interests: I am interested in the systematics and evolutionary relationships of bark and ambrosia beetles. My reserch currently focuses on the phylogenetics of the bark beetle tribe Scolytini, specifically the genus Camptocerus Dejean. I am also interested in the evolution of host use in the scolytinae.

Liu Yang - Master's Student

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