David C. Marshall
Ph.D., Biology,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Postdoctoral Research
Associate
Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT 06269 USA
david.marshall @
uconn.edu
(860) 486-3947
A local cicada statue in
Kihikihi, New Zealand
For a curriculum vitae click here.
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My research ranges across the fields of phylogeography, molecular phylogenetics, speciation/diversification, phylogenetic
methodology, animal communication, and
mating systems, all with emphasis on acoustically signaling insects (the
"singing insects"), which make excellent model systems for such work. I have been fortunate to be involved in many field collecting trips for projects on cicada biology and systematics around the world, and my collaborators (through the C. Simon lab) and I have assembled a large collection of DNA- and song-vouchered cicada specimens that will serve as a basis for extensive new work on Cicadidae diversification, taxonomy, and classification.
My technical specialities include bioacoustic analysis
methods, molecular phylogenetic techniques (lab and analytical), field collection, and specimen curation/databasing.
I am working closely with several collaborators worldwide, including
Dr. Chris Simon, my postdoctoral advisor (New Zealand and Australian
cicada phylogenetics), Dr. Thomas Buckley of Landcare Research,
Auckland, NZ (New Zealand phylogeography), Dr. Max Moulds of the
Australian Museum (retired, Australian cicada phylogenetics), and Dr.
John Cooley of Yale University (periodical cicada and Australian cicada
behavior). My wife Kathy Hill (M.Sc., Ecology, Victoria Univ. of Wellington, NZ) is an expert on cicadas
and a key collaborator.
SELECTED
RESEARCH AREAS AND PAPERS
Speciation, phylogeography, song evolution,
and DNA taxonomy in New Zealand cicadas
Key findings include a complete phylogeny for the cicada genus Kikihia and estimation
of the timeframe of diversification. Radiation in Kikihia has been rapid yet
stable in rate throughout the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs, showing that
diversification rates have not been affected by the major changes in climate cycling through the past five million years.
Life cycle evolution, communication,
and speciation in 13- and
17-year
periodical cicadas
Aggressive
mimicry in the
Australian predatory katydid
Chlorobalius leucoviridis
* Marshall
and Hill 2009, PLoS One, 4: e4185.
Tree length and data partitioning in
Bayesian phylogenetic analyses
Adaptive radiation
and global
biogeography of the
worldwide
cicada tribe Cicadettini
(Global
radiation ms in prep.)
Page updated 3 June 2011
