Evolutionary biology, ecology and conservation biology, primarily of amphibians and reptiles. My most recent research projects have focused on conservation genomics, both in California and more broadly. I am the Principal Investigator and Director of the California Conservation Genomics Project (CCGP), an analysis of 250 species of plants and animals that uses the power of genomic analysis to help conserve our state’s biodiversity. In other projects, we recently completed a phylogenetic analysis of virtually all of the world’s turtles and tortoises, providing an evolutionary framework that is essential for the conservation of this diverse, extremely endangered group of reptiles. We continue to focus a great deal of ecological and genetical work on the California tiger salamander, an endangered species native to central California grassland habitat, as well as several other endangered frogs, toads, and salamanders.
In addition to my appointment in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, I am the Director of the La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science, a research center in the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability (IoES). I also am Director of the UCLA Stunt Ranch Reserve, one of UCLA’s two reserves in the UC Natural Reserve System (NRS), and am the campus liaison to the NRS.
