Biogeographic Modeling

I have spearheaded innovative ways to investigate biogeographic questions in lieu of a detailed fossil record. I led a collaborative project with international high-profile co-authors (USA, China, Madagascar, Germany) examining the spatial and temporal arrival patterns of Madagascar's living vertebrates within the context of major prevailing geologic and oceanographic conditions. Results support the importance of transoceanic dispersal by wind and water as the vehicles by which most of Madagascar’s living groups became established, and that many more groups likely made it to Madagascar and later went extinct. This work provided insights into the mechanisms that resulted in the distribution of the modern endemic animal forms, helping elucidate how islands accumulate animal species over time (through a balance of colonizations, speciations, and extinctions), and has placed Madagascar’s exceptional collection of animals into a global evolutionary context.