Gareth Powell
PhD Student
Gareth is a doctoral student working with Dr. Seth Bybee. He completed both his BS and MS degrees in entomology at Purdue University. Gareth's main interests are in Coleoptera Systematics, with a specific focus on the family Nitidulidae (Sap Beetles). He is currently investigating the evolution of vision across different feeding behaviors in Sap Beetles. The research utilizes behavioral observations in the field, morphological characters, and large molecular datasets. When not in the field collecting more beetles, he is probably at home curating any previous catch.
Gareth is a doctoral student working with Dr. Seth Bybee. He completed both his BS and MS degrees in entomology at Purdue University. Gareth's main interests are in Coleoptera Systematics, with a specific focus on the family Nitidulidae (Sap Beetles). He is currently investigating the evolution of vision across different feeding behaviors in Sap Beetles. The research utilizes behavioral observations in the field, morphological characters, and large molecular datasets. When not in the field collecting more beetles, he is probably at home curating any previous catch.
Gavin Martin
PhD Candidate
Gavin is a 4th year PhD student working on firefly (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) phylogenetics and visual system evolution. He is using NGS technology to study the co-evolution of the opsin genes with the luciferase genes of both fireflies that use bioluminescence and those that do not. He is mostly interested in the phylogenetics and systematics of Coleoptera.
Gavin is a 4th year PhD student working on firefly (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) phylogenetics and visual system evolution. He is using NGS technology to study the co-evolution of the opsin genes with the luciferase genes of both fireflies that use bioluminescence and those that do not. He is mostly interested in the phylogenetics and systematics of Coleoptera.
Robert Erickson
PhD Student
Robert is a doctoral student working with Dr. Seth Bybee. He is an insect enthusiast who did his undergraduate work at Utah Valley University, surveying arthropod diversity within a national park (Capitol Reef). He is currently investigating phylogenetic relationships among extinct and extant taxa of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) using morphological and NGS technology.
Robert is a doctoral student working with Dr. Seth Bybee. He is an insect enthusiast who did his undergraduate work at Utah Valley University, surveying arthropod diversity within a national park (Capitol Reef). He is currently investigating phylogenetic relationships among extinct and extant taxa of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) using morphological and NGS technology.