Principal Investigator
Edward D. Burress, Ph.D.
I am broadly interested in macroevolutionary patterns of phenotypic evolution,
ecological diversity, speciation, and phylogenetic comparative methods. Most of my work focuses on cichlid fishes, but I also study marine fishes, Caribbean anoles, Southeastern U.S. fishes, and more recently Appalachian salamanders and freshwater pufferfishes.
Graduate Students
Luis M. Gonzalez Arocho, Ph.D. student
Luis joined the Burress Lab in Fall 2023 as a University of Alabama McNair Fellow. Luis recently finished his M.Sc. degree at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus, where he was advised by Alberto Puente Rolón. His interests include trophic and microhabitat specialization and its relationship with performance and phenotypic adaptations. In the Burress Lab, Luis plans to study bi-phasic lungless salamanders, specifically their diet, prey selection, and how they intersect with feeding/microhabitat performance.
Dartagnan G. Mullins, Ph.D. student
Dartagnan joined the Burress Lab in Fall 2023, as a recipient of the Aquatic Enhancement Assistantship. Dartagnan recently finished his B.Sc. degree at the University North Carolina - Asheville, where he was advised by Graham Reynolds. Dartagnan's interests include evolutionary ecology, functional morphology, and genetics. In the Burress Lab, Dartagnan plans to study lungless salamanders in the Appalachian Mountain region, specifically the macroevolutionary patterns of feeding and locomotor morphology as well as feeding performance across the water-land barrier.
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Madeline "Maddy" Dissinger, M.Sc. student
Maddy joined the lab in Fall 2023 as part of the Accelerated Master's Program (AMP). As such, she will begin working towards her M.Sc. early. In the Burress Lab, Maddy plans to study the performance and functional consequences of durophagy (eating hard-shelled prey) in freshwater pufferfishes. Specifically, she is interested in how snail shell shape influences feeding performance.
Maria Alves Napolitani, Visiting Scholar
Maria is a graduate student in the Henning Lab at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Her interests include Ecological Genetics and Genomics, Evolutionary Ecology, and Quantitative Genetics. In the Burress Lab, Maria plans to study convergent ecomorphs in two neotropical adaptive radiations of cichlid fishes (Crenicichla), specifically how stable isotopes can elucidate diet signatures and habitat preferences of these convergent and sympatric species.
More here: LinkedIn
Postdoctoral Researchers
Brooke L. Bodensteiner, Ph.D.
Brooke joins 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 will study physiological and morphological evolution among squamates.
More here: Website
Undergraduate Students
Macy Schelp, Senior, Pre-Med
Macy joined the lab in Fall 2023. Macy is studying how the mechanical trade-off between the transmission of velocity versus force constrains the diversity of the surrounding anatomical system. As a focal study group, Macy is using fishes known as 'darters' (Percidae).
Kylie Combs, Sophomore, Pre-Med
Kylie joined the lab in Fall 2024. Kylie is helping with the study of fish anatomy and functional morphology.
Sofia Jones Rivera, Sophomore, Pre-Med
Sofia joined the lab in Spring 2024. Sofia is studying leaf mimicry in freshwater fishes.
Michael Bergeron, Senior, Pre-Vet
Michael joined the lab in Fall 2022. Michael is studying the decoupling of the oral and pharyngeal jaws in cichlid fishes and how it varies along the velocity-force trade-off.
Berklee Hoffman-White, Senior, Pre-Med
Berklee joined the lab in Fall 2024. Berklee is helping with the study of fish anatomy and functional morphology.
Emily Letterle, Senior, Pre-Vet
Emily joined the lab in Summer 2024. Emily is taking the lead with animal care and husbandry.
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
Sydney Higgenbottom - 2024, B.Sc. Marine Biology.
Justin Aderholt - 2023, B.Sc. Biology.
