Department of Integrative Biology
Graduate PhD Defense

Congratulations to Dr. Erika Garcia who successfully defended her PhD Defense.  Erika will be moving to Israel to start a Fulbright postdoc fellowship for a year, then begin an NSF postdoctoral fellowship following the Fulbright. 

Erika Garcia

P.h.D Candidate
Dr. Paula Cushing Lab, Denver Museum of Nature & Science
CU Denver Department of Integrative Biology

When: April 18, 2023 at 12:00pm
Where: SI 4127 and Zoom  (Please email Jacki Craig (jacki.craig@ucdenver.edu) for the Zoom Link)

A taxonomic re-assessment: Phylogenomics, morphological evolution, and historical biogeography of North American camel spiders (Arachnida: Solifugae)

Solifugae, commonly known as camel spiders or wind scorpions in North America, are important insect predators in desert and semi-desert biomes on all continents except Australia and Antarctica. The evolutionary relationships of Solifugae were historically uncertain, however, until recently, several researchers have made devoted efforts to formally begin to understand the evolutionary history of this enigmatic group by adopting modern techniques necessary for taxonomic delimitation. In 2015, a multi-locus phylogeny was published for the North American family Eremobatidae, making this family one of the first to receive phylogenetic attention. Results from that study suggested that some of the most speciose genera originate from multiple independent ancestors throughout Eremobatidae, thus need substantial taxonomic revision. As part of an ongoing effort to revise Eremobatidae, the motivation of this doctoral research was to robustly delimit taxonomic boundaries, elucidate phylogenomic relationships, and understand evolutionary processes that have influenced the diversity of four eremobatid genera.