Using molecular phylogenetics, as well as ecological niche modeling tools, I am interested in examining the tie in between biogeographic history and evolutionary history.  An organism’s geographic distribution in a region and genetic distribution in a phylogeny can tell a great deal about its evolutionary history.  I examine these geographic and genetic distributions at both local and regional scales to determine the processes (including fragmentation or expansion of range, dispersal or vicariant events, etc.) that lead to their present distribution and diversity.  My work focuses largely on land snails in the genus Oreohelix, the characteristic land snail of the Rocky Mountains and mountain areas in the Great Basin, and the genus Sonorella, the talus-snail found in the mountains of Arizona and New Mexico. 

One of my current research projects takes place at the University of La Verne’s Research Station in Montana, Magpie Ranch, which lies along the Clark Fork River.  Student projects include: Ecological Niche Modeling of invasive species, Biogeography of Oreohelix in Montana and Opihi in Hawaii, reproduction in Oreohelix, and invasive plant removal of tree tobacco and castor bean along the Claremont Wilderness Trail.