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Kevin J. Roe Systematics, evolution, & conservation |
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Research I am interested in several aspects of organismal
biology including the evolutionary relationships of species of
freshwater mussels, fishes and shrimps. Since many aquatic taxa
are threatened by poor land-use practices and the pollution of rivers
and streams, conservation of these organisms is also a high priority
for
me. Some of my ongoing research includes: Conservation
Genetics of Freshwater Mussels Widely recognized as one of the most endangered
group of organisms in the world. I am currently working on improving
our understanding of population structure of freshwater mussels using
mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite data. The two species are a
study in contrasts: one, the Sheepnose, is widely distributed across
musch of the U.S. but has been declining in recent years. The
other species, the Louisiana
Pearlshell, is found in just two parishes
in Louisiana. Systematics and
Evolution of Lampreys Central American
Freshwater Mussels The freshwater bivalve family Unionidae is
diverse, including approximately 90 genera. Recent systematic and
taxonomic studies have involved the relationship of the Unionidae to
other freshwater mussel families or focused on the relationships within
North American unionid genera. Little or no research has been
conducted on Central American freshwater mussels over the last century.
This is unfortunate as Central America represents the southern most
extent of the Unionidae in the western hemisphere and is important to
unionoid systematics because it represents a geographic nexus between
two distinct northern and southern hemisphere freshwater mussel clades
and includes taxa found nowhere else in the world. I am currently
focusng efforts on several unionids that are endemic to Lake
Nicaragua. Understanding the taxonomic affinities of Lake
Nicaraguan freshwater mussels will ultimately lead to greater
understanding of the phylogenetic position, origin and evolutionary
history of the Unionidae in the Western Hemisphere. North American
Atyid Shrimps The family Atyidae is large and cosmopolitan in
distribution, including both surface (epigean) and cave dwelling
(stygobytic) forms. The majority of atyid species are epigean and
are tropical and sub-tropical in distribution. North America is
home to four recognized species of Atyidae: Syncaris pacifica, S. pasadenae, Palaemonias alabamae,
and P. ganteri. Historically,
only two named species, the Kentucky Cave Shrimp (Palaemonias ganteri) and the
Alabama cave shrimp (P. alabamae)
were known from the southeastern United States. Recently however,
an undescribed third species (Palaemonias
sp.) of cave shrimp was discovered from two localities in
Alabama. Genetic comparison of this new population to known
populations of P. alabamae
revealed significant genetic differences and indicate an absence of
gene flow between these populations. Similarly, genetic comparisons of
specimens of Syncaris pacifica
from various drainages revealed the presence of multiple mitochondrial
haplotypes. Margaritiferidae
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