Difference between revisions of "Roberta Engel"
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GASTROPODA <br/> | GASTROPODA <br/> | ||
| − | ==Research | + | ==Pseudoscorpions== |
| + | Pseudoscorpions, also known as Chelonethida, Pseudoscorpiones, or Pseudoscorpionida, are an understudied order of arachnids. While not well known, Aristotle made note of pseudoscorpions as did the luminaries Linnaeus and Hooke (Micrographia 1665), and today they star on YouTube. Pseudoscorpions are found throughout the world in a wide range of microhabitats including leaf litter, animal nests, under rocks (even in the intertidal zone), beneath bark, and among the pages of books. One reason many are unfamiliar with pseudoscorpions is their diminutive size, most measuring less than 5 mm. This ancient lineage, the fossil record dates to the Middle Devonian, comprises 25 families, 439 genera, and 3385 species. <br/> | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Dissertation Research== | ||
[[Image:Outcrop_webpage_1000.jpg|thumb|left|granite outcrop in southwestern Australia]] | [[Image:Outcrop_webpage_1000.jpg|thumb|left|granite outcrop in southwestern Australia]] | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | ''Synsphyronus'' (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones: Garypidae) is a genus of pseudoscorpions found throughout Australia, New Zealand | + | ''Synsphyronus'' (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones: Garypidae) is a genus of pseudoscorpions found throughout Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia (Harvey 1987). Currently, there are 24 described species but the diversity is much greater (unpublished data). This group has been collected beneath bark, in leaf litter, and under rocks in mesic and xeric regions. Specifically, I am interested in the origin and diversification of Synsphyronus lineages that are endemic to the granite outcrops in southwestern Australia. Only one species, "Synsphyronus elegans", has been described from the outcrops, and until recently it was known only from its type locality.<br/> |
| + | My research objectives include:<br/> | ||
| + | • to assess the diversity of "Synsphyronus" on the granite outcrops of southwestern Australia<br/> | ||
| + | • to describe species discovered on the outcrops<br/> | ||
| + | • to infer phylogenetic relationships among the rock-restricted lineages in southwestern Australia<br/> | ||
| + | • to estimate a species level phylogeny <br/> | ||
| + | |||
| + | I have been fortunate to have had three field seasons since starting my dissertation. During my 2004 and 2006 field seasons, I visited over 100 outcrops in southwestern Australia, sampling from the ~70 populations discovered. My sampling suggests that the diversity of "Synsphyronus" in southwestern Australia is greater than previously recorded. I traveled across Australia to localities recorded for twelve of the 22 Australian species of "Synsphyronus" for my 2008 field season. | ||
Revision as of 20:16, 31 May 2009
Doctoral Student
Office: BioPharm 318
Voice: (860) 486-6215
Fax: (860) 486-6364
E-mail: roberta.engel@uconn.edu
Mailing address:
75 N. Eagleville Road, Unit 3043
Storrs, CT 06269-3043, U.S.A.
Contents
Lab
Contact Info
email: roberta.engel at uconn.edu
lab phone: 486-6215
Office Hours
Fenton Findings 2009
BIRDS
Woodcock
Ruffed Grouse (4/16)
Chickadee
Gold Finch
INSECTS
Nepidae, water scorpion
Dysticidae
Hydrophilidae
Notonectidae
Corixidae
Gerridae
Trichoptera
Ephemeroptera
GASTROPODA
Pseudoscorpions
Pseudoscorpions, also known as Chelonethida, Pseudoscorpiones, or Pseudoscorpionida, are an understudied order of arachnids. While not well known, Aristotle made note of pseudoscorpions as did the luminaries Linnaeus and Hooke (Micrographia 1665), and today they star on YouTube. Pseudoscorpions are found throughout the world in a wide range of microhabitats including leaf litter, animal nests, under rocks (even in the intertidal zone), beneath bark, and among the pages of books. One reason many are unfamiliar with pseudoscorpions is their diminutive size, most measuring less than 5 mm. This ancient lineage, the fossil record dates to the Middle Devonian, comprises 25 families, 439 genera, and 3385 species.
Dissertation Research
Synsphyronus (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones: Garypidae) is a genus of pseudoscorpions found throughout Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia (Harvey 1987). Currently, there are 24 described species but the diversity is much greater (unpublished data). This group has been collected beneath bark, in leaf litter, and under rocks in mesic and xeric regions. Specifically, I am interested in the origin and diversification of Synsphyronus lineages that are endemic to the granite outcrops in southwestern Australia. Only one species, "Synsphyronus elegans", has been described from the outcrops, and until recently it was known only from its type locality.
My research objectives include:
• to assess the diversity of "Synsphyronus" on the granite outcrops of southwestern Australia
• to describe species discovered on the outcrops
• to infer phylogenetic relationships among the rock-restricted lineages in southwestern Australia
• to estimate a species level phylogeny
I have been fortunate to have had three field seasons since starting my dissertation. During my 2004 and 2006 field seasons, I visited over 100 outcrops in southwestern Australia, sampling from the ~70 populations discovered. My sampling suggests that the diversity of "Synsphyronus" in southwestern Australia is greater than previously recorded. I traveled across Australia to localities recorded for twelve of the 22 Australian species of "Synsphyronus" for my 2008 field season.
