Alycia L Stigall
Alycia L Stigall
Stigall’s research group explores the influence of biogeography and paleoecology on macroevolutionary phenomena, principally speciation and cladogenesis. She is particularly interested in elucidating the long-term impacts of species invasions and the relationship between speciation mode and biodiversity expansions and declines. Stigall, along with her students, employs a variety of quantitative approaches, such as phylogenetic reconstruction and ecological niche modeling, to integrate previously disparate areas of paleontological investigation within a comprehensive evolutionary framework. Articulated brachiopods are the most commonly employed model taxa within this work. A secondary line of research involves taxonomic and paleoecological analyses of spinicaudatan crustaceans, a group restricted to freshwater lake environments. Recent projects have focused on the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event, the Late Ordovician Richmondian Invasion, the Late Devonian Biodiversity Crisis, and Jurassic lakes of Gondwana. Primary field locations range from the Appalachian and Cincinnati basins, to Oklahoma, Estonia, Namibia, and Antarctica. Our research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, National Geographic, UNESCO, and the American Chemical Society’s Petroleum Research Fund.
Contact
Phone: 865-974-5499
Email: stigall@utk.edu
Professional Website: www.alyciastigall.org
Research Interests
Paleoecology, biogeography, and speciation; invasive species in the fossil record; Ordovician marine ecosystems; brachiopods; broadening participation in science
