Principal Investigator
Edward D. Burress, Ph.D.
I am broadly interested in macroevolution and functional morphology. I also enjoy learning and employing phylogenetic comparative methods. Most of my work focuses on cichlid fishes, but I also study Southeastern U.S. fishes (minnows and darters), and dabble in marine fishes, Caribbean anoles, and plethodontid salamanders.
Graduate Students
Luis M. Gonzalez Arocho, Ph.D. student
Luis joined the Burress Lab in Fall 2023 as a University of Alabama McNair Fellow and recipient of the Dean's Award. Luis is studying the feeding ecology of sympatric lungless salamanders, specifically focusing on the impact of their specialization along the aquatic-to-terrestrial axis and the extent to which they integrate aquatic and terrestrial food webs. He also studies the functional morphology of pencilfish using micro-computed tomography (microCT).
Dartagnan G. Mullins, M.Sc. student
Dartagnan joined the Burress Lab in Fall 2023, as a recipient of the Aquatic Enhancement Assistantship. Dartagnan is studying the role of modularity in promoting the diversity of lungless salamanders in the Appalachian Mountain region.
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Reina Bell, M.Sc. student
Reina joined the lab in Fall 2025 as part of the Accelerated Master's Program (AMP). She studies locomotor performance in lungless salamanders across the water-land boundary.
Postdoctoral Researchers
Brooke L. Bodensteiner, Ph.D.
Brooke joined the lab in January 2025. Brooke recently earned her Ph.D. from Yale University, where she was part of the Muñoz Lab. In the Burress Lab, Brooke is studying the physiological and morphological evolution of anoles as well as the adaptive radiation of pike cichlids.
More here: Website
Undergraduate Students
Sofia Jones Rivera, Senior, Pre-Med
Sofia joined the lab in Spring 2024. Sofia is studying leaf mimicry in freshwater fishes across several dimensions of the phenotype, including coloration, jaw anatomy, and swimming behavior.
Saraah Zaheer, Junior, Pre-Vet
Saraah joined the lab in Fall 2025. She is studying the feeding performance of durophagous pufferfishes and cichlid fishes while crushing snails.
Rebecca DeCaro, Senior, Biology
Rebecca joined the lab in Fall 2025. She is helping Brooke process CTscans of anole lizards and plans to start her own project in the spring.
Affiliate members
Luna, Senior Doggo
The Lab's resident work-life balance consultant. Her expertise lies in the comparative anatomy and mortality of squeakers with a secondary focus on the biomechanics and locomotion of tennis balls.
Lab Alumni
Madeline Dissinger - 2025, M.Sc., Biology
Maria Napolitani - 2024, Visiting Scholar
