Morgan E. Raley, North Carolina State Museum


	Dr. Morgan E. Raley Research Associate North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences Research Laboratory 4301 Reedy Creek Road Raleigh, NC 27606 AND North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine B-307 4700 Hillsborough Street Raleigh, NC 27607 Phone: 919-618-3212 (cell) Email: morgan.raley@ncmail.net AND morgan_raley@ncsu.edu Webpage: http://www4.ncsu.edu/~meraley
General Interests: My research to date has primarily focused on the molecular systematics of cypriniform taxa (specifically, species of Notropis, Lythrurus, and Moxostoma). Given both the age of these taxa and their ranges throughout North and Central America, this research logically leads to studies of historical biogeography. More recently, however, I find myself involved in studies of population and conservation genetics of the threatened southeastern fauna. In pursuing these finer-grained studies, I have rediscovered the complexities of these seemingly simple fishes. Introgressive hybridization and reticulate evolution are common themes recovered in cypriniforms. Without a thorough understanding of the taxa being studied, hybrid phenomena might not even be considered as viable possibilities for the reconstruction of evolutionary relationships among taxa. Given this, a holistic and collaborative approach is needed to accurately describe the diversity of this complex group of fishes. Taxa: Recent species; Families Catostomidae, Cyprinidae (primarily Leuciscines) Character Types: mtDNA, nDNA, microsatellite DNA, behavior Target Continents: primarily North and Central America .