People

Dr. Catherine Badgley

Professor, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

cbadgley@umich.edu

I am interested in ecological, evolutionary, and geohistorical processes that influence the diversity of mammals in ecosystems and lineages. My research focuses on species richness and ecological structure of mammalian faunas from the scale of individual localities and fossil assemblages to major ecological regions and continents. A major research focus is evaluating the influences of landscape history (tectonics and climate) on regional diversification of mammals over the last 25 million years. A related goal is to assess causes of diversity gradients for modern mammals across regions and continents. A third research theme focuses on comparing the influences of different modern systems of food and agriculture on biodiversity.

Dr. Catherine Badgley : Professor, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Mariah Schlis-Elias

Ph.D. Student, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

I am interested in the reciprocal relationships between agriculture and mammalian wildlife, particularly in terms of resource use, the structure of ecological networks, and agricultural producers' perceptions and management of wildlife. I earned my Bachelor of Science in Zoology from Michigan State University (2017), and my Master of Science in Biology from Austin Peay State University (2019). Previously, I conducted research on body size variation in island-dwelling meadow voles from a geometric morphometrics perspective. At UMich, I am a Rackham Merit Fellow who plans to use a combination of isotope analysis and DNA metabarcoding to explore dietary variation and trophic relationships among Michigan mammals in cultivated landscapes.

Mariah Schlis-Elias : Ph.D. Student, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Fabian Hardy

Ph.D. Candidate, Earth & Environmental Sciences

I work on a variety of topics, including mammals from the Miocene (24 million years ago) to the Pleistocene (10 thousand years ago). My Miocene work focuses on how changes in faunal assemblages are related to geologic events, such as mountain uplift or climate change. The Basin and Range holds a fossil record with abundant evidence of regional changes in mammal diversity, and informs us about the biogeography of western North America. My background is in traditional geology, and I obtained Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Geoscience at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Fabian Hardy : Ph.D. Candidate, Earth & Environmental Sciences

Kaori Chambers

M.S. Student, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Kaori Chambers : M.S. Student, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Dr. Lucas Weaver

NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

My research program sits at the intersection of paleontology, geology, and evolutionary biology and aims to elucidate the causes and consequences of major transitions in early mammalian evolution, such as the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution and the Cretaceous-Paleogene Mass Extinction. Using a combination of paleontological and geological fieldwork, systematic study of fossil collections, and analyses of the functional morphology, ecology, histology, and isotope geochemistry of modern and extinct mammals, my work scales from species-level studies of ecology, behavior, and life history, to ecosystem-level studies of biodiversity, tectonic and fluvial history, and climate. For more information, visit my website.
Lucas' CV

Dr. Lucas Weaver : NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Dr. Katharine Loughney

Ph.D. 2018, Earth & Environmental Sciences

My research focuses on the connection between fossil preservation and stratigraphy on both local and basin-wide scales. For my dissertation in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science, I studied the effects of tectonics and climate on the taphonomy of mammalian fossil assemblages in the Mojave Desert, California. As a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the lab, I compiled stratigraphic data for basins of the North American western interior to incorporate into reconstructions of topography for the past 36 million years. For more information on my research, visit my website.
Katharine's CV

Dr. Katharine Loughney : Ph.D. 2018, Earth & Environmental Sciences

Sofia Belabbes

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Biology major, Archaeology minor
Project description: Paleontological research concerning the species identification of a mammalian specimen found in the Denver River Basin, dated to the Paleocene era (with L. Weaver)

Sofia Belabbes : Undergraduate Research Assistant

Aurelia Allen

M.S. 2021, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

I am interested in how human-induced environmental changes affect natural systems and how abiotic and biotic factors affect where species can and cannot persist. I received my Bachelor's of Science degree in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior from the University of Texas at Austin in 2018. Before graduating, I participated in the Aquatic Chemical Ecology REU program at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2016 where I conducted a project analyzing color changes of Lake Malawi cichlid males of different ecotypes. Before coming to the University of Michigan, I worked as a research technician at the Georgia Institute of Technology where I conducted research to de-orphanize olfactory receptors found in the human colon and lungs. Additionally, I am a Rackham Merit Fellowship recipient.

Aurelia Allen : M.S. 2021, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Bian Wang

Ph.D. 2021, Earth & Environmental Sciences

I research the ecology and biogeography of ungulate mammals in both modern and paleo ecosystems, with a focus on the middle Miocene of North America. I use a combination of stable isotopes, geometric morphometrics, and other methods to reconstruct the dietary ecology, water use, and body size of ungulates from two topographically distinct regions, the Mojave region in California and the central Great Plains, through the middle Miocene episode of global warming. In doing so, I investigate how landscape history affects mammalian biogeography and biodiversity. Aside from mammalian paleoecology, I'm also broadly interested in mammalian functional morphology, geochemistry, and geology.

Bian Wang : Ph.D. 2021, Earth & Environmental Sciences

Jeff Shi

Ph.D. 2018, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

I studied the diversification of bats, a group characterized by enormous ecological innovation, dispersal across numerous biomes, and species richness around the globe. By integrating large-scale genetic, spatial, and morphological datasets, I worked to illuminate the processes that generate bat diversity and control their biogeographic distributions. I am currently an Education Program Specialist in the University of Minnesota Center for Educational Innovation.
Jeff's CV

Jeff Shi : Ph.D. 2018, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Tara Smiley

Ph.D. 2016, Earth & Environmental Sciences

I am interested in mammalian evolutionary ecology, biogeography, landscape processes, and stable isotope biogeochemistry. My research investigates diversity dynamics and paleoecology of Miocene mammals in relation to tectonic and climate history in western North America. I am currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology & Evolution at Stony Brook University. For more information, visit my website.
Tara's CV

Tara Smiley : Ph.D. 2016, Earth & Environmental Sciences

Ethan VanValkenburg

Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2018-2021

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology major
UROP project: Jaw disparity in relation to diet in the order Artiodactyla, with implications for paleo ecology (with B. Wang)
Current project: Distribution of the diets of modern mammals in the order Artiodactyla in relation to climatic and physiographic variables (with Dr. Badgley and B. Wang)

Ethan VanValkenburg : Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2018-2021

Caleb Grimes

Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2019-2020

Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences graduate 2020

Caleb Grimes : Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2019-2020

Anna Harkness

Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2015-2018

Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences graduate 2018
UROP project: Paleosol development in the Miocene Barstow Formation and implications for paleoenvironments through the middle Miocene Climatic Optimum
Honors thesis project: Fire Frequency and C4 Vegetation Expansion in the Barstow Formation, Middle Miocene, California

Anna Harkness : Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2015-2018

Molly Moroz

Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2014-2017

Departments of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Earth and Environmental Sciences graduate 2017

Molly Moroz : Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2014-2017

Dr. M. Soledad Domingo

Former Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology, 2010-2013

My research interests focus on the ecology and diversity of Neogene mammalian faunas. I use several approaches to learn about the life, death, behavior and habitat of extinct mammals including macroevolutionary studies, taphonomical analyses and stable isotope analyses of skeletal tissues. I am currently an Assistant Professor at Complutense University, Madrid, Spain. For more information, visit my website.
Soledad's CV

Dr. M. Soledad Domingo : Former Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology, 2010-2013

Rachel Cable

Former M.S. Student, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

My research interests lie in animal ecology, specifically, the fields of animal behavior, biogeography, and conservation biology. While pursuing my master's degree, I researched the behavior of gelada monkeys and their interactions with humans in the Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia, through direct observation and analysis of their behavioral responses, resource availability, and movement ecology. I am currently a Ph.D. student in the Duhaime Lab, UM Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

Rachel Cable : Former M.S. Student, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Greg Hanafin

Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2014

Greg Hanafin : Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2014

Kimberly Wiley (Bryn Mawr College, PA) and Dacotah Wolf Necklace (Sitting Bull College, ND)

2013 ED-QUE²ST REU Students

Kimberly's project: Dietary habits of fossil antelope from Pakistan (with Dr. Badgley)
Dacotah's project: Dietary habits of living and fossil desert rodents (with Dr. Badgley and T. Smiley)

Kimberly Wiley (Bryn Mawr College, PA) and Dacotah Wolf Necklace (Sitting Bull College, ND) : 2013 ED-QUE²ST REU Students

Sanam Anwar (Wellesley College, MA)

2012 ED-QUE²ST REU Student

Sanam Anwar (Wellesley College, MA) : 2012 ED-QUE²ST REU Student
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