Research:
Dan was a Master’s student in Hoffman lab from 2015-2017. When he began, he was interested in researching what factors influence species’ distribution, particularly in fishes. Species’ distributions can be affected by dispersal capabilities, life-history traits, and biogeographic boundaries among other factors. To understand how these factors shape the distribution of species, he used population genetics and phylogeographic approaches.
Dan’s master’s thesis was titled “Go with the flow: Patterns of connectivity in low dispersal coral reef gobies (Coryphopterus spp.) throughout the western Atlantic”. The results of Dan’s study helped reveal barriers to gene flow throughout the western Atlantic for Coryphopterus spp. .
Dan is currently a Research Assistant at Covariance Biosciences
For more information about Dan:
Dan’s Personal Background:
Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, I went to Cleveland State University and received my BS in Biology. Coming from the Great Lakes region, much of my experience has been aquatic ecology along with interests in population genetics. In 2013, I worked as an intern at the Holden Arboretum in Kirtland, Ohio looking at nutrient cycling processes in microbes and trees. In 2014, I worked for a summer at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History working with mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) population dynamics in response to lampricide application in the Grand and Ashtabula Rivers. Most recently, I was a naturalist at the Cleveland Metroparks during the summer of 2015.