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Danielle Rivera

Phylogenomics & Phylogeography of Tropical Herps

Postdoc, traveler, always lab-singer, and all-around herp enthusiast.

I discovered my love for all things Ecology and Evolution in Biology as an undergrad at The City College of New York (CCNY), where I received my B.S. and M.Sc. in the Carnaval Lab, studying phylogenetics and phylogeography of Mabuya lizards in Brazil. I received my Ph.D. from the Fujita Lab at UT Arlington studying phylogenomic patterns of diversity and admixture in South American toads, geckos, and skinks.

Now I’m working as a Postdoctoral Research Scholar with Dr. Rayna Bell (California Academy of Sciences) and Drs. Nathan Hostetter and Jaime Collazo (North Carolina State University / USGS) to assess the genetic diversity and taxonomic uncertainty in Spondylurus skinks (formerly Mabuya, because I just can’t get enough!) across Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.