Principal Investigator
Pr. Nicola Anthony
I am a broadly trained biologist with strong interests in evolutionary biology, molecular ecology and conservation genetics. After finishing my Ph.D. and spending 6 months in the tropical forests of Peru, I moved to the University of Wisconsin to study the molecular genetics of pesticide resistance. At the same time, I also went back to graduate school to study for a Master’s in conservation biology and sustainable development. I then left the US to participate in a conservation research and capacity building project in Gabon that was focused around the molecular ecology and conservation of western lowland gorillas.
Since joining the University of New Orleans in 2003, I have continued to expand my interests in evolutionary biology and its application to conservation. I have also developed a strong international collaborative component to my research and in 2011 co-organized a workshop in evolution and conservation at the national science university of Gabon (Universite des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku). More recently, I have begun a major collaborative project that is centered around conservation of biodiversity under climate change in Central Africa: the Central African Biodiversity Alliance funded through the NSF Partnerships for International Research and Education program. More recently, I was fortunate enough to receive the Freeport McMoRan Endowed Chair which has allowed me to invest in a number of student projects in Louisiana and overseas. If you are interested in joining my lab or simply would like to know more about any of our projects please email me here: nanthony@uno.edu
Since joining the University of New Orleans in 2003, I have continued to expand my interests in evolutionary biology and its application to conservation. I have also developed a strong international collaborative component to my research and in 2011 co-organized a workshop in evolution and conservation at the national science university of Gabon (Universite des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku). More recently, I have begun a major collaborative project that is centered around conservation of biodiversity under climate change in Central Africa: the Central African Biodiversity Alliance funded through the NSF Partnerships for International Research and Education program. More recently, I was fortunate enough to receive the Freeport McMoRan Endowed Chair which has allowed me to invest in a number of student projects in Louisiana and overseas. If you are interested in joining my lab or simply would like to know more about any of our projects please email me here: nanthony@uno.edu
Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Researchers
Dr. Katy Morgan
I have broad interests in molecular ecology, conservation and population genetics, and tropical biodiversity. During my PhD I worked on Anopheles mosquitoes within Southeast Asia, focussing on the roles of historical climate change and ecological heterogeneity in driving population divergence and speciation. After receiving my PhD from The University of Manchester, I moved to the Max Planck Institute in Tübingen to begin working on the population genetics and genomics of island nematodes.
I joined the Anthony lab in May 2013, excited by the opportunity to move into conservation genetics. I have carried out genomic and phenotypic work for two of the nine CAB-Alliance focal taxa: the soft furred mouse, Praomys misonnei, and the blue duiker, Philantomba monticola. The main aim of my work is to identify and characterize patterns of adaptive diversity across the Central African landscape as well as identify areas of genomic vulnerability where populations will have the greatest challenges to adapt to environmental change. I also have a keen interest in the capacity building and international collaboration aspects of the CAB-Alliance project, and have been involved in the organisation of field expeditions and undergraduate field courses in both Gabon and Cameroon.
I joined the Anthony lab in May 2013, excited by the opportunity to move into conservation genetics. I have carried out genomic and phenotypic work for two of the nine CAB-Alliance focal taxa: the soft furred mouse, Praomys misonnei, and the blue duiker, Philantomba monticola. The main aim of my work is to identify and characterize patterns of adaptive diversity across the Central African landscape as well as identify areas of genomic vulnerability where populations will have the greatest challenges to adapt to environmental change. I also have a keen interest in the capacity building and international collaboration aspects of the CAB-Alliance project, and have been involved in the organisation of field expeditions and undergraduate field courses in both Gabon and Cameroon.
Trent Santonastaso
I received a BS in biology from Penn State with a minor in geology. Upon graduation, I worked as a chemist in an environmental lab, and volunteered in the collections department of the Field Museum of Natural History. Twelve years later, I returned to school and graduated from Northeastern Illinois University with an MS in Biology with an emphasis in ecology. While working on my thesis “Population Structure of Wild Raccoons (Procyon lotor) from Various Habitat Types across the Chicago Area Using Molecular Techniques”, I participated in a project parsing out Sedum conspecifics, and worked as a field scientist for an environmental company.
After graduation I was hired as a lab manager in the genetics lab of the Brookfield Zoo. Aside from routine paternity testing, our bigger projects included determining migration patterns of wild lions throughout Central Africa and conducting an exhaustive parentage analysis of the entire North American captive population of Ringtail Lemurs. Before returning to Graduate School at the University of New Orleans, I also constructed a microsatellite library for the critically endangered Swamp Metalmark butterfly at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, and worked in a high-throughput cancer research facility at Northwestern University where I was responsible for FISH and TUNEL analyses, laser capture, immunohistochemistry titrations, cell culturing, and tissue banking. My PhD thesis focuses on three components of reptile immunity. Firstly, I have examined the impact of island fragmentation on MHC diversity in a widespread reptile Podarcis erhardii. Secondly, I have been characterizing the MHC class II complex in the reptile genome. Lastly, I have been working on a project to examine the effects of spatial and temporal variation in pathogen pressure on MHC variation in an endemic anole native to the island of Saba.
After graduation I was hired as a lab manager in the genetics lab of the Brookfield Zoo. Aside from routine paternity testing, our bigger projects included determining migration patterns of wild lions throughout Central Africa and conducting an exhaustive parentage analysis of the entire North American captive population of Ringtail Lemurs. Before returning to Graduate School at the University of New Orleans, I also constructed a microsatellite library for the critically endangered Swamp Metalmark butterfly at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, and worked in a high-throughput cancer research facility at Northwestern University where I was responsible for FISH and TUNEL analyses, laser capture, immunohistochemistry titrations, cell culturing, and tissue banking. My PhD thesis focuses on three components of reptile immunity. Firstly, I have examined the impact of island fragmentation on MHC diversity in a widespread reptile Podarcis erhardii. Secondly, I have been characterizing the MHC class II complex in the reptile genome. Lastly, I have been working on a project to examine the effects of spatial and temporal variation in pathogen pressure on MHC variation in an endemic anole native to the island of Saba.
Christie Sukhdeo
I have a broad interest in the fields of ecology, evolution, and conservation biology of tropical forest fauna. I especially like working with insects! I graduated from the City College of New York at the City University of New York in 2011 with a B.S. in Biology and initial certification in secondary education. I joined the Anthony Lab at UNO in Fall 2012 as a Ph.D student and NSF graduate research fellow. In the past, I have conducted research on the phylogeography of a widespread tropical butterfly Melanitis leda. I have also participated in a Buddhism and biodiversity conservation project in Southeast Asia, specifically in Sri Lanka and Thailand. For my Ph.D thesis project, I am working on mapping patterns of dung beetle beta diversity across West and Central Africa. I have also used a comparative phylogeographic approach to understand the role of montane speciation in three widespread dung beetle species and investigated the impacts of mammal hunting on dung beetle communities in central African forests. For more about me, please visit my website.
Courtney Miller
I received my undergraduate degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a major in Environmental Studies here at UNO. I took part in a variety of research projects as an undergrad including my senior honors thesis on parasitism rates and host specificity of Honduran bat flies and a collaborative project on feral hog abundance and distribution in LaFitte national park. After spending a year as an undergraduate research assistant in Dr. Anthony’s lab, I was delighted to transition to the Ph.D. program and joined the Central Africa PIRE project in Spring 2015. I am generally interested in the influence of human activities (such as climate change and urban expansion) on biodiversity, evolutionary processes, wildlife disease, and ecosystem functioning. Within these interests I hope to explore ways in which interdisciplinary approaches and international collaboration can benefit conservation efforts.
My Ph. D. research is based on three projects in Central Africa. The first project involves mapping patterns of genomic variation within one of the PIRE project’s focal taxa, the Golden Puddle Frog Phrynobatrachus auritus, throughout Cameroon and Gabon. The goal is to combine these results with that of other focal taxa to identify areas of elevated adaptive potential and highlight areas for conservation under future climate projections. The second project involves modeling the distribution of the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) in Cameroon. The objective is to determine whether the distribution of Bd is associated with one or more environmental variables and produce a spatial map of its likely distribution under current and future climate conditions that could be used to influence amphibian conservation efforts. The final project is focused on mapping amphibian beta diversity across the Congo basin and predicting how different amphibian functional groups will respond to climate change.
My Ph. D. research is based on three projects in Central Africa. The first project involves mapping patterns of genomic variation within one of the PIRE project’s focal taxa, the Golden Puddle Frog Phrynobatrachus auritus, throughout Cameroon and Gabon. The goal is to combine these results with that of other focal taxa to identify areas of elevated adaptive potential and highlight areas for conservation under future climate projections. The second project involves modeling the distribution of the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) in Cameroon. The objective is to determine whether the distribution of Bd is associated with one or more environmental variables and produce a spatial map of its likely distribution under current and future climate conditions that could be used to influence amphibian conservation efforts. The final project is focused on mapping amphibian beta diversity across the Congo basin and predicting how different amphibian functional groups will respond to climate change.
Anna Weber
My career in biological research began during my undergraduate studies at Alma College, located in central Michigan. I had the opportunity there to be part of several field research projects, including studying elephant behavior in Thailand, predator surveys in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, and banding birds in Michigan, Canada, Ecuador, and later in Yosemite National Park. After my graduation in 2015, I started to learn about the usefulness of molecular tools in ecology and conservation, and I began to search for graduate programs that would allow me to combine my interests in both field ecology and genetics. That search led me to pursue a Master’s degree in Dr. Anthony’s lab at UNO.
I am generally interested in ecology, conservation, and public education and outreach. My current research focuses on inbreeding prevalence, relatedness, and mate choice in mandrills, a large species of monkey, in Lopé National Park, Gabon. Specifically, I aim to determine whether female mandrills choose mates based on genetic dissimilarity in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), a set of genes with important immune functions. As part of a collaboration and fellowship with the Audubon Nature Institute, I am also engaged in a study evaluating the impacts of environmental contamination on reptile communities at Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge here in Louisiana.
My career in biological research began during my undergraduate studies at Alma College, located in central Michigan. I had the opportunity there to be part of several field research projects, including studying elephant behavior in Thailand, predator surveys in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, and banding birds in Michigan, Canada, Ecuador, and later in Yosemite National Park. After my graduation in 2015, I started to learn about the usefulness of molecular tools in ecology and conservation, and I began to search for graduate programs that would allow me to combine my interests in both field ecology and genetics. That search led me to pursue a Master’s degree in Dr. Anthony’s lab at UNO.
I am generally interested in ecology, conservation, and public education and outreach. My current research focuses on inbreeding prevalence, relatedness, and mate choice in mandrills, a large species of monkey, in Lopé National Park, Gabon. Specifically, I aim to determine whether female mandrills choose mates based on genetic dissimilarity in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), a set of genes with important immune functions. As part of a collaboration and fellowship with the Audubon Nature Institute, I am also engaged in a study evaluating the impacts of environmental contamination on reptile communities at Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge here in Louisiana.
Geraud Tasse (University of Buea, Cameroon)
I am a PhD student at the University of Buea in the Department of Zoology and Animal Physiology and a Researcher at the Ore processing Laboratory under the Institute of Geology and Mining Research in Yaounde, Cameroon. My research interest is primarily on amphibians and their conservation but also on the use of various spatial analytical approached in understanding patterns and conservation of biodiversity under climate change in the tropics. My thesis focuses on amphibians in general and more on the golden puddle frog Phrynobatrachus auritus. I integrate various spatial analytical approaches to answers questions related to the life history, distribution and the need for conserving the puddle frog and at a larger scale, other amphibians in a hotspot of biodiversity in Cameroon.
I am a PhD student at the University of Buea in the Department of Zoology and Animal Physiology and a Researcher at the Ore processing Laboratory under the Institute of Geology and Mining Research in Yaounde, Cameroon. My research interest is primarily on amphibians and their conservation but also on the use of various spatial analytical approached in understanding patterns and conservation of biodiversity under climate change in the tropics. My thesis focuses on amphibians in general and more on the golden puddle frog Phrynobatrachus auritus. I integrate various spatial analytical approaches to answers questions related to the life history, distribution and the need for conserving the puddle frog and at a larger scale, other amphibians in a hotspot of biodiversity in Cameroon.
Amour Mickala (Université des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku, Gabon)
I am a PhD student at the Masuku University of Science and Technology (USTM) in Gabon, in the Department of Biology, Biology section of the Populations and Ecosystems option Biology and Ecology of Animal Communities. My research for my doctoral studies is focused on studying mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) and their conservation using non-invasive genetic approaches. More specifically, my thesis is focused on using non-invasive genotyping to assess the relatedness structure of a focal horde of wild mandrills and to estimate the genetic effective and census population size of this population. I am also integrating different non-invasive approaches to answer questions related to the mechanisms of inbreeding avoidance in wild mandrills of the Lopé National Park in Gabon.
I am a PhD student at the Masuku University of Science and Technology (USTM) in Gabon, in the Department of Biology, Biology section of the Populations and Ecosystems option Biology and Ecology of Animal Communities. My research for my doctoral studies is focused on studying mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) and their conservation using non-invasive genetic approaches. More specifically, my thesis is focused on using non-invasive genotyping to assess the relatedness structure of a focal horde of wild mandrills and to estimate the genetic effective and census population size of this population. I am also integrating different non-invasive approaches to answer questions related to the mechanisms of inbreeding avoidance in wild mandrills of the Lopé National Park in Gabon.
