My lab is broadly interested in relationships among organisms, the evolutionary processes that generate biodiversity, and how environmental change influences genetic patterns.
Much of our work empahsizes freshwater conservation with a focus on mollusks.
Dr. Whelan is interested in how evolution has shaped the diversity of freshwater organisms and how we can best protect biodiversity from increasing human pressures.
Dr. Whelan also studies life history of mollusks with an emphasis on the freshwater snail families Pleuroceridae and Semisulcospiridae.
Research:
- Freshwater Mollusks
- Phylogenetics and Comparative Biology
- Conservation Genetics
- Bioinformatics and Phylogenetic Inference
