People

Research in the Dyer Laboratory focuses on understanding how landscape features influence genetic connectivity and movement in native and introduced species.

   

Rodney J. Dyer, PhD

Principal Investigator
 
   

Jane Remfert

Doctoral Candidate
 
   

Madison Whitehurst

Masters Candidate

Previous Laboratory Members

  • Rebekha Archibald-Shaw Thesis: Seed dispersal and subsequent recruitment of the mid-canopy forest tree, Cornus florida. Supported in part by the Rice Center. MS, Environmental Sciences, Virginia Commonwealth University 2009.

  • Stephen Baker Thesis: Invasion genetic of the invasive grass, Microstegium vimineum (Poaceae). Supported in part by the Rice Center. MS, Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University 2009.

  • Dan Carr Thesis: Pollination biology of the understory tree, Cornus florida L. Supported in part by the Rice Center and National Science Foundation research grant DEB-0640803. MS, Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2010.

  • Stephanie Crouch-Burgess Thesis: Spatial genetic structure of the mole salamander, Ambystoma opacum (Gravenhorst). Supported in part by the Rice Center. MS, Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2008. Currently pursuing her PhD at OleMiss with Dr. Ryan Garrick.

  • Matthew DeSaix Thesis: Patterns of population structure and migratory connectivity revealed in a songbird of conservation concern. Supported in part by funding by the Department of Defense, the Rice Center, and the Center for Environmental Studies. MS, Environmental STudies, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2018.

  • Candace Dillion Thesis: Assessment of pre-PCR whole genome amplification of single pollen grains in flowering dogwood (Cornus florida L.). Supported in part by the Rice Center and National Science Foundation research grant DEB-0640803. MS, Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University 2009.

  • Vicki Gardiakos Thesis: Investigating patterns of pollen-mediated gene dispersal in the flowering dogwood, Cornus florida L. Supported in part by NSF DEB-0640803. Supported in part by National Science Foundation research grant DEB-0640803. MS, Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University 2009.

  • Dr. Ryan Garrick Dr. Garrick was a post-doctoral researcher in the laboratory from 2007-2009 under National Science Foundation Research Grant DEB-0543102. Currently Dr. Garrick is an Assistant Professor in Biology at the University of Mississippi.

  • Morgan Gostel Thesis: Evolutionary relationships in Afro-Malagasy Schefflera based on nuclear and chloroplast markers. MS, Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2010.

  • Catherine Heidrich MS Thesis Project: Who’s your daddy? Extra-pair copulation of Prothonotary warblers (Protonotaria citrea). Supported in part by the Rice Center. MS, Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University 2012.

  • Jameson Hinkle MS Thesis Project: Proof-of-concept of environmental DNA tools for Atlantic Sturgeon management. MS Center for Environmental Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015.

  • Megan Kuechle Thesis: Influence of environmental features on spermatophore placement and male fecundity in spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum). MS, Center for Environmental Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2020.

  • Olivia Latham Thesis: Bee functional trait analysis in shale barren pollinator networks. MS, Center for Environmental Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2020.

  • Crystal Meadows Thesis: Determining impediments to gene flow in a natural population of Cornus florida L. Cornaceae, using integrative landscape genetic techniques. MS, Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2010.

  • Angela Redwine Thesis: Reproductive dynamics in flowering dogwood along an urban landscape gradient. MS, Environmental Sciences, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2012.

  • Bonnie Roderique Thesis: Improving the conservation of a cryptic endangered freshwater mussel (Parvaspina collina) through the use of environmental DNA and species distribution modeling. This project was supported in part by funding from the Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC) and the Rice Center. MS, Environmental Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2018.

  • Chitra Seshadri Thesis: Genome wide analysis of sequence and epigenetic variance in Araptus attenuatus, the Sonoran Desert bark beetle. MS, Environmental Sciences, 2016.

  • Anna Tucker Thesis: Fitness cost of conspecific brood parasitism in a cavity-nesting warbler. MS, Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2014.

  • Dr. Cathy Viverette Thesis: Influence of historic landscapes and contemporary species management on Chesapeake Bay Bald Eagles and Osprey. PhD, Integrated Life Sciences, 2016.

  • Abby Wright Undergraduate researchers. 2019-2020.