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*systematics, ecology, evolution

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graduate students • alumni • courses •  see*

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The Systematics, Ecology, and Evolution (SEE) group is one of three divisions in the Department of Biological Sciences at Louisiana State University. SEE group was formed in 1997 as the result of a departmental merger, bringing together faculty with ecological and evolutionary interests from the former Departments of Microbiology, Plant Biology, and Zoology & Physiology. Curators at the LSU Museum of Natural Science also participate in the group, greatly broadening the expertise in vertebrate ecology and evolution. Research within SEE is broadly divided into two groups, systematics and evolutionary biology and ecology. 

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systematics and evolutionary biology

Faculty with research interests in systematics and evolutionary biology examine phylogenetic relationships and mechanisms of evolutionary change within a variety of organisms. Many students and faculty in the group use DNA sequencing as a tool for understanding evolutionary relationships and processes. Some examples of ongoing research projects include:

• Cryptic species in marine invertebrates.
• Molecular systematics and evolution of algae, bacteria, archaea, fungi, and flowering plants.
• Evolutionary analysis of behavior in insects and fish.
• Co-evolution between mammals and their parasites.
• Sexual isolation of closely related insect and marine invertebrate species.
• Systematics and conservation of terrestrial plants.
• Bird behavioral ecology and evolution.
• Life histories and convergent evolution of arthropod-dispersed fungi.

 

ecology

Faculty with research interests in ecology have programs primarily in terrestrial plant ecology and aquatic ecology.

• Plant-ecologists are strongly oriented toward the population and community ecology of tropical and subtropical forests and wetlands. Primary focuses are:
• Consequences of natural perturbations such as wind damage, fires, hurricanes and weather extremes such as El Niño events [Platt, Williamson].
• Invasive species as they relate to forest-ecosystems dynamics [Platt, Williamson].
• Aquatic ecologists have research programs in the areas of:
• Food-web interactions in lakes and coastal marine habitats [Ramcharan, Carman, Fleeger].
• Predator-prey interactions [Brown,Fleeger].
• Invertebrate-microbe interactions [Blackwell,Carman].
• Meiofaunal ecology [Carman,Fleeger].
• Microbial ecology [Carman,Rainey].
• Physiological ecology of marine invertebrates.
• Influence of contaminants on benthic and planktonic communities [Brown,Carman,Fleeger].
• Conservation of aquatic invertebrates.

For links to individual faculty research interests, click here.

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The diverse interests of the 20 ESEB faculty, their 55+ graduate students, and postdoctoral research associates facilitate advanced study in systematics, ecology, and evolution, involving a broad range of organisms and habitats.

• See graduate students have access to modern, well-equipped facilities for data collection and analysis
• Research within SEE is supported by grants from several national funding agencies
• Results are regularly published in premier international scientific journals
• Over half of the faculty participate in the campus-wide Interdepartmental Studies in Systematics and Evolutionary Biology (ISSEB) graduate studies group
• Several members of the group serve as editors or editorial board members of important journals and are high office holders in a number of societies

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