Geomorphological processes can have a large impact on terrestrial ecosystem evolution and can therefore play an important role in macroevolutionary processes through time. We investigate how landscape evolution and climate interact to alter the connectivity and spatial distribution of habitats, influencing gene flow and range limits of communities within these habitats. Using numerical modeling paired with data of major geologic events, species distribution, and phylogenies, I aim to test if and how speciation events in the phylogenetic record can be explained by topography, drainage reorganization and climate change.

Project Investigators: Katherine Kravitz, Jean Braun