Dr. Andrew M. Simons
Assistant Professor & Curator of Fishes
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology
University of Minnesota
Bell Museum of Natural History
100 Ecology
1987 Upper Buford Circle
Saint Paul, MN 55108
Voice: 612-624-6292
FAX: 612-624-6777
Email: asimons@umn.edu
Webpage: http://www.fw.umn.edu/Personnel/Faculty/Simons.html
General Interests: To date my lab’s work on cypriniform fishes has been confined to North American species and can be divided into three areas. First, we study phylogeography of patterns of cyprinid and catostomid species in the Central Highlands. This work has resolved relationships among closely related species as well as illustrating impacts of dispersal and effects of Pleistocene glaciation on species distributions. Second, we are involved in recovering phylogenetic relationships among major groups of North American cyprinid fishes using mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences. The goal of this is to obtain a robust phylogeny for all North American cyprinid species. Third, we are investigating the evolution of trophic morphology of North American cyprinids in the context of their phylogenetic history. All three aspects of this research involve collaborations with other labs in Missouri and Florida.
Taxa: Recent species; Families Catostomidae and Cyprinidae
Character Types: Osteology, myology, mtDNA, nuclear DNA
Target Continents: North America