Mentor Search
Brett Riddle
( University of Nevada, Las Vegas )
- Institution:University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- Departments: Life Sciences
- Research Fields: Mammal Evolution And Ecology, Mammal Conservation, Biogeography, Phylogeography, Conservation Biology, Origins Of Western North American Animals, Plants, And Biological Communities
- Disciplines: Animal Physiology, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Conservation Biology, Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology, Systematic Biology/Biological Systematics
- Location:Clark County
- Funding:NSF - National Science Foundation
Biography
Brett Riddle is a Professor in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His research focuses primarily on the history of biodiversity in western North America, with ongoing projects including: historical assembly of the warm desert biotas; phylogeography of Great Basin montane island biotas; and molecular systematics and biogeography of diverse North American rodent groups.
Research in his laboratory spans a broad array of vertebrate, invertebrate, and plant groups, but generally asks questions about the history and structure of biological species and communities in western North American deserts, grasslands, and mountains. They use conceptual frameworks ranging from systematics through population genetics; analytical approaches ranging from historical biogeography through phylogeography and landscape genetics; and data that includes DNA sequences as well as morphological variation. Many of these research questions provide a basis to better predict the consequences of human-based landscape alterations and climate changes on the future of biological diversity.