H. Bradley Shaffer
Professor
hbshaffer@ucdavis.edu
Evolution and Ecology
Office
3208 Storer Hall
752-2939
Degrees:
1982
PhD
University of Chicago
Evolutionary Biology
1976
BS
University of California, Berkeley
Zoology
Research Contribution to Society:
Much of our work has very direct applications to conservation issues, particularly in California. We are creating a new Amphibian and Reptile Species of Special Concern monograph for the state, and we work collaboratively on many conservation and management issues of relevance to state endangered and threatened amphibians and reptiles.
Research Interests:
Evolutionary and conservation biology of amphibians and reptiles. Research in my lab focuses on genetics and genomics, field ecology, phylogenetics, and phylogeography of amphibians (primarily ambystomatid salamanders) and turtles. Recent work has centered on hybridization and genetic introgression between native, endangered tiger salamanders and their exotic relatives, and on building a time-calibrated phylogeny for the world's turtle and tortoise fauna. Conservation research has focused primarily on California species, including California Tiger salamanders, Red-legged frogs, western pond turtles, and long-toed salamanders.
Awards:
President, American Genetics Association (2010)
Hrdy Fellow in Conservation Biology 2009-10
Department and Center Affiliations:
Center for Population Biology
CBS Graduate Group Affiliations:
Population Biology
Graduate Groups not Housed in CBS:
Ecology Graduate Group
Publications:
Last updated 5/21/2010
Thomson, R. C. and H. B. Shaffer. 2010. Sparse supermatrices for phylogenetic inference: Taxonomy, alignment, rogue taxa, and the phylogeny of living turtles. Systematic Biology 59:42-58.
Fitzpatrick, B. M., J. R. Johnson, D. K. Kump, H. B. Shaffer, J. J. Smith and S. R. Voss. 2009. Rapid fixation of non-native alleles revealed by genome-wide SNP analysis of hybrid tiger salamanders. BMC Evolutionary Biology 9:176.
Spinks, P. Q. and H. B. Shaffer. 2009. Conflicting mitochondrial and nuclear phylogenies for the widely disjunct Emys (Testudines: Emydidae) Species Complex, and what they tell us about biogeography and hybridization. Systematic Biology 58:1-20.
Wang, I. J., W. K. Savage and H. B. Shaffer. 2009. Landscape genetics and least cost path analysis reveal unexpected dispersal routes in the California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense). Molecular Ecology 18:1365-1374.
Field Sites:
Mexico, North America, Australia, South America
Teaching Interests:
Herpetology. Systematics and macroevolution. Vertebrate biology/diversity.
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