Education/Professional Preparation 1993- 1996 Benjamin Cardozo High School, Queens, New York
1996 - 2000 McGill University, B.Sc. (with Great Distinction) in Applied Zoology, Montreal, Quebec
2001 - May 22,2006 University of Michigan, Ph.D., Ann Arbor, Michigan
2006 - 2008 Postdoctoral Fellow in Ichthyology, American Museum of Natural History
2008 - Assistant Professor/Curator of Ichthyology, LSU
PublicationsStiassny
M.L.J., Chakrabarty, P., Loiselle. P. (2001)
Relationships of the
Madagascan cichlid genus Paretroplus, with a description of a new
species from the Betsiboka River drainage of northwestern Madagascar. Ichthyological Explorations of Freshwaters 12 (1): 29- 40.
Chakrabarty, P. (2004)
Cichlid biogeography: comment and review. Fish and Fisheries 5(2):97-119.
Chakrabarty, P. (2004) Abstract:
Relationships and biogeography of Antillean Cichlids. In: Stevenson, D. W., Abstracts of the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Willi Hennig Society.
Cladistics 20 (2004): 76-100.
Chakrabarty, P. (2005)
Testing conjectures about morphological diversity in cichlids of Lakes Malawi and Tanganyika. Copeia 2005 (2): 359-373.
Pikitch, E.K., Doukakis, P., Lauck, L., Chakrabarty, P. , Erickson, D.L. (2005)
Sturgeon and paddlefish fisheries of the world: conservation strategies for the future. Fish and Fisheries 6 (3), 233-265.
Chakrabarty, P., Ng, H.H. (2005)
The identity of the catfishes identified as Mystus cavasius (Hamilton, 1822) (Teleostei: Bagridae), with a description of a new species from Myanmar. Zootaxa 1093, 1-24.
Chakrabarty, P. (2006)
Taxonomic status of the Hispaniolan Cichlidae Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan 737, 1-16.
Chakrabarty, P. (2006)
Systematics and Historical Biogeography of Greater Antillean Cichlidae. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 39, 619-627.
Chakrabarty, P., Oldfield, R.G., Ng, H.H. (2006)
Nandus prolixus, a new species of leaf fish from northeastern Borneo (Teleostei:Perciformes:Nandidae). Zootaxa 1328, 51-61.
Chakrabarty, P. (2007)
[Review of] An Atlas of Michigan
Fishes with keys and illustrations for their identification. Bailey, R.M.,
Latta, W.C., Smith, G.R. Copeia 2007
(1): 238-239.
Chakrabarty, P. (2007)
A morphological phylogenetic analysis of
Middle American cichlids with special emphasis on the section "Nandopsis" sensu Regan. Miscellaneous Publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan 198: 1 - 31.
Chakrabarty, P., Sparks, J.S. (2007)
Relationships of the New World cichlid genus Hypsophrys Agassiz 1859 (Teleostei: Cichlidae), with diagnoses for the genus and its species. Zootaxa, 1523, 59-64.
Sparks, J.S., Chakrabarty, P. (2007)
A new species of ponyfish (Teleostei:Leiognathidae: Photoplagios) from the Philippines. Copeia 2007 (3): 622-629.
Chakrabarty, P., Sparks, J.S. (2007)
Phylogeny and taxonomic revision of Nuchequula Whitley 1932 (Teleostei: Leiognathidae), with the description of a new species. American Museum Novitates 3588:1-28.
Chakrabarty, P., Sparks, J.S. (2008)
Diagnoses for Leiognathus Lacepede 1802, Equula Cuvier 1815, Equulites Fowler 1904, Eubleekeria Fowler 1904, and a new ponyfish genus (Teleostei: Leiognathidae).
American Museum Novitates 3623, 1-11.
Smith, W.L., Chakrabarty, P., Sparks, J.S. (2008)
Phylogeny, taxonomy, and evolution of Neotropical cichlids (Teleostei:Cichlidae:Cichlinae).
Cladistics 24, 1-17.
Chakrabarty, P., Amarasinghe, T., Sparks, J.S. (2009)
Redescription of ponyfishes (Teleostei:Leiognathidae) of Sri Lanka and the status of Aurigequula Fowler 1918.
Ceylon Journal of Science (Biological Science) 37 (2): 143-161.
Chakrabarty, P. (2009)
[Review of] Your Inner Fish, A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body.
Copeia 2009 (2), 421.
Chakrabarty, P., Smith, W.L., Sparks, J.S., (2010) Abstract: Testing the role of sexual selection in the evolution of ponyfishes. In: Szumik, C., Goloboff, P. A summit of cladistics: abstracts of the 27th Annual Meeting of the Willi Hennig Society and VIII Reunion Argentina de Cladistica y Biogeografıa.
Cladistics 26: 202-211;226.
Chakrabarty, P., Chu, J., Luthfun, N., and Sparks, J.S. (2010) Geometric morphometrics uncovers an undescribed ponyfish (Teleostei: Leiognathidae:
Equulites) with a note on the taxonomic status of
Equula berbis Valenciennes.
Zootaxa 2427:15-24.
Chakrabarty, P., Hans, H.C., Sparks, J.S. (2010) Review of the ponyfishes (Perciformes: Leiognathidae) of Taiwan.
Marine Biodiversity 40:1-15.
Chakrabarty, P. (2010) The transitioning state of systematic ichthyology.
Copeia 2010(3):513-514
Chakrabarty, P., (2010) Status of Milyeringidae, with the description of a new blind cave fish from Australia,
Milyeringa brooksi, n. sp.
Zootaxa 2557:19-28.
Web ArticlesChakrabarty, P. (2003)
Huso huso. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Animal Diversity Web.
Chakrabarty, P. (2007) The fangtooth:
Anoplogaster cornuta. Digital Fish Library, http://www.digitalfishlibrary.org
Popular Articles
Chakrabarty, P. and Davis, M. (2010) Collecting Fishes in Vietnam. Museum Quarterly, LSU Museum of Natural Science 28 (2): 8-9.
Chakrabarty, P. (2009) Fishing in the Gulf with SEAMAP. Museum Quarterly, LSU Museum of Natural Science 27 (2): 4-5.
Chakrabarty, P. (2008) Letter from our new ichthyologist. Museum Quarterly, LSU Museum of Natural Science 26 (3): 3.
Chakrabarty, P.
(2006) The Greater Antillean Cichlids. Buntbarsche Bulletin 234, 18-22.
Chakrabarty, P. (2005)
Papa's Fish: A Note on Neomerinthe hemingwayi. The Hemingway Review. p. 109-111.
Chakrabarty,
P. (2004) Museum of Zoology: No specimen left behind. University of
Michigan Exhibit Museum of Natural History. The Display Case 17 (2)
2-3.
Chakrabarty, P. (1999) Downtown campus? What Downtown
Campus? The Afterthought: MacDonald Campus, McGill University. January
1999, p.1,4.
Chakrabarty, P. (1999) So you think you know about
evolution? The Afterthought: MacDonald Campus, McGill University.
January 1999, p. 10-11.
Chakrabarty, P. (1999) This stage of man. The Afterthought: MacDonald Campus, McGill University. March 1999, p.16.
Chakrabarty,
P. (1998) The tragic life of Alfred Russell Wallace, The Afterthought:
MacDonald Campus, McGill University. March 1998, p.5.
Field WorkWinter 2004, January 4-14,
Dominican Republic.
I
collected freshwater and marine spp. from 10 localities for
morphological and molecular analyses. The purpose of this trip was to
collect individuals of the two endemic nominal species of cichlids and
discover if they are valid taxa. One of these,
N.vombergae, has not
been collected in more than 60 years. Sites visited include the
respective type localities of these two cichlids. Specimens collected
were used in molecular and morphological analyses testing the validity
of these species and in tests of biogeographic hypotheses.
Winter
2005, November 4-14,
Yucatan Peninsula.
I collected freshwater and
brackish water fish from Mexico and Belize with Ronald Oldfield (UMMZ)
and colleagues based in those two countries (Juan Jacobo Schmitter-Soto
and Peter Esselman respectively). The purpose of this trip was to
collect cichlids for my thesis research on the phylogeny of Middle
American Cichlidae and to help with the survey work of our colleagues.
Cichlids species collected include:
Thorichthys meeki, T. pasionis, Cichlasoma octofasciatus, C. robertsoni and
Petenia splendida. Non-cichlids collected include:
Belonesox belizanus, Astyanax aeneus, Gobiomoris dormitor, Hyphessobrycon compressus and
Awaous banana.
Spring
2006, March 16-26,
Taiwan.
Dr. John Sparks and I collected from 20 sites
including on a trawler, from bycatch stands, and at markets. Organized
by Dr. Hin-Kiu Mok and through the American Museum of Natural History.
We collected nearly 1000 specimens and over a hundred species. Some of
these include Leiognathids, lantern-belly sharks
Etmopterus, Polymixia japonicus, Harpanadon and many other species.
Winter 2007, January 9-22,
Malay Peninsula.
Dr. John Sparks and I collected from more than a dozen localities including Phuket Island on the Andaman Sea, Chonburi, and Bangkok, (Thailand); Melaka, and Muar (Malaysia), as well as various parts of Singapore. We collected over 1000 specimens including several new species of Leiognathids. Non-ponyfish collected include nursery fish (
Kurtus), wolf herring (
Chirocentrus), and kissing gourami (
Helostoma) among many others. We collected with Dr. Somsak Panha, Dr. Thosaporn Wongratana and Dr. Heok Hee Ng and others during this trip.
Spring 2007, March 21-March 29,
Taiwan.
Collected from several deep sea ports and markets with Hans Ho and the students of Dr. Hin-Kiu Mok. Also set up imaging base for recording live ponyfish.
Spring 2007, March 30- April 9,
Sri Lanka.
Collected from over 20 sites on the western and southern Coasts of Sri Lanka, with lots of support from Thasun Amarasinghe and Rohan Pethiyagoda. The northern-most point visited was Puttalam, the southern-most point Matara and the eastern-most was Habantota. More than a dozen rare ponyfish species were collected as were many other marine and brackish water fishes.
Fall 2007, September 20- October 10,
Indonesia.
Visited from various sites on the island archipelago, including Java and Bali. Traveling with Daniel Lumbantobing (George Washington University/Smithsonian) and Renny Hadiaty (LIPI-Indonesian Institute of Science). Notable collections included
Psettodes erumei and several rare collections of ponyfishes including the first record of
Photoplagios laterofenesta in nearly 30 years.
Summer 2008, May 31 - June 26,
Madagascar.
Targeted the blind cave fishes in Ankarana and the Mahafaly Pleateu and collected several species of
Typhleotris and
Glossogobius including some that are new to science and others that have not been collected in decades. Visited over ten caves and sinkholes with Phil Willink (Field Museum), John Sparks (AMNH) and Scott Holtz (AMNH).
Fall 2008, November 11 - November 19,
Taiwan.
Made market collections of over 300 marine species (including specimens from coral reefs and the deep sea) totaling over 1000 specimens. Traveled to markets in Taipei, Wuchi, Chiayi, Dongshih, Heng-chun, Tongkang and Tashi. Sampling included molecular and morphological specimens to be deposited at the Ichthyology Collection at LSU.
Winter 2009, January 26 - January 29,
Gulf of Mexico.
Trawled with SEAMAP (Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program) on the R/V Pelican organized by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Collected 55 species for the LSU collection including, searobins, marine catfish, frogfish, batfish, puffers and flatfish. We also collected CTD-DO data, water samples, and sediment samples at 12 trawl stations.
Summer 2009, May 17 - June 6,
Australia.
Sampled from several caves, sinkholes, and wells in the Northwest Cape of Australia to collected endemic blind gobies. Also sampled fisheries trawling materials of leiognathids and other bioluminescent taxa at the Western Australia Museum.
Winter 2010, January 19 - February 3,
Vietnam.
Sampling fish markets from Nha Trang, Mui Ne, and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) as well as brackish collections made on the Mekong river. Collections made with Taiwanese colleagues include over 450 tissue samples representing nearly 350 different marine and brackish water species.
Contributed and Invited Talks at Conferences Stiassny, M.L.J., Chakrabarty, P.*, Loiselle, P.V. 2000. Relationships of the Madagascan cichlid genus
Paretroplus
Bleeker 1868, with a description of a new species from the Betsiboka
River drainage on northwestern Madagascar. Annual Meeting of the
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, La Paz, Mexico
(14 - 20 June 2000).
Lauck, E.W.*, Pikitch, E.K.,
Chakrabarty, P. 2001. A policy and consumer strategy for sturgeon
conservation. Society for Conservation Biology 15th Annual Meeting
Hilo, Hawaii, (29 July - August 1, 2001)
Chakrabarty, P.*
2002. Testing convergence of body shapes and diet in rift lake
cichlids. Annual Meeting of the American Society of Ichthyologists and
Herpetologists, Kansas City, Missouri (3 - 8 July 2002).
Chakrabarty,
P.* 2003. Relationships of Antillean cichlids and biogeographic
consequences. Annual Meeting of the American Society of Ichthyologists
and Herpetologists, Manaus, Brazil (26 June - 1 July 2003).
Chakrabarty,
P.* 2003. Relationships and Biogeography of Antillean Cichlids. Willi
Hennig Society; Hennig XXII (20 - 24 July 2003).
Chakrabarty,
P.* 2004. Systematics and historical biogeography of the Neotropical
cichlid genus Nandopsis. Annual Meeting of the American Society of
Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Norman, Oklahoma (26 May - 31 May
2004).
Chakrabarty, P.* 2005. Systematics and historical
biogeography of the Greater Antillean cichlids. Congress on Caribbean
Biodiversity V, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (25-28 January 2005)
Chakrabarty,
P.** 2005. Quantifying morphological diversity to test hypotheses about
Tanganyika and Malawi cichlids, Evolution 2005, Fairbanks, Alaska.
(10-14 June 2005).
Chakrabarty, P.* 2005. Systematics and historical biogeography of Middle American
and Greater Antillean Cichlidae, Evolution 2005, Fairbanks, Alaska. (10-14 June 2005).
Chakrabarty,
P.* 2006. Deconstructing "Cichlasoma" Phylogenetic Analyses of Middle
American cichlids, American Society of Ichthyologists
and Herpetologists, New Orleans (12 July - 17 July 2006).
Chakrabarty, P.*, Smith, W.L., Sparks, J.S. 2007 Phylogenetic relationships of ponyfishes (Teleostei: Leiognathidae) with a discussion of the evolution of their light organ system. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Annual Meeting, St. Louis, Missouri. (11 July - 16 July 2007).
Chakrabarty, P.*, Sparks, J.S. 2008. The influence of sexual selection in the diversification of Leiognathidae. Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 28 July 2008.
Chu, J. **, Nahar, L. **, Sparks, J.S., Chakrabarty, P. 2008. Taxonomic status of
Photoplagios leuciscus Gunther 1860 (Teleostei:Leiognathidae). Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 25 July 2008.
Chakrabarty, P.*, Smith, W.L., Sparks, J.S. 2008. Testing the Role of Sexual Selection in the
Evolution of Ponyfishes. Hennig XXVII - A summit of Cladistics. Willi Hennig Society, Tucuman, Argentina, 29 October, 2008. (INVITED TALK)
Chakrabarty, P.* 2009. Blind cave fishes from opposite ends of the Indian Ocean reveal an ancient Gondwanan connection. 8th Indo Pacific Fish Conference, Freemantle, Australia, June 2. (WINNER - Best Talk of Session)
Chakrabarty, P.*, Willink, P., Sparks, J.S. 2009. Blind cave gobies from opposite ends of the Indian Ocean reveal an ancient Gondwanan connection. Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Portland, Oregan. 26 July.
Schaefer, S.*, Sabaj, M., Geneva, A., Chakrabarty, P. 2009. Andean astroblepid catfishes: Pattern and scale of species diversity. Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Portland, Oregon. 24 July.
Davis, M.P.* Chakrabarty, P., 2010. Evolutionary relationships of the lizardfishes (Aulopiformes: Synodontoidei). Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Providence, Rhode Island. 9 July.
Chakrabarty, P.*, Albert, J.S. 2010. Freshwater Fishes of Central America and a new take on the Great American Biotic Interchange. Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Providence, Rhode Island. 9 July.
* Presenter ** Poster
Selected Non-Conference Presentations
Chakrabarty, P.* 2010. Fishes!, East Baton Rouge Parish Library. Children’s Services (Elementary School Children), July 15 (INVITED TALK).
Chakrabarty, P.* 2010. Fishes!, Zachary High School, 2nd grade teachers workshop, April 29 (INVITED TALK).
Chakrabarty, P.* 2010. Biogeography of freshwater fishes: from the Greater Antilles to Gondwana. Biology Seminar Series, Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, April 22 (INVITED TALK).
Chakrabarty, P.* 2010. Genetypes: Bringing taxonomy to the molecular age. NSF sponsored Collections RCN Data Integration Workshop, New Orleans, March 26 (INVITED TALK).
Chakrabarty, P.* 2010. Biogeography of freshwater fishes: from the Greater Antilles to Gondwana. Invited Seminar Series, Case Western University, Cleveland, March 18 (INVITED TALK).
Chakrabarty, P.* 2009. Freshwater fishes and biogeography. Biology Seminar Series, Sam Houston State University at Huntsville, November 21 (INVITED TALK)
Chakrabarty, P.* 2009. Freshwater fishes and biogeography. Biology Seminar Series, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, November 6. (INVITED TALK)
Chakrabarty, P.* 2009. Freshwater fishes and biogeography. Biology Seminar Series, Tulane University, New Orleans, September 25. (INVITED TALK)
Chakrabarty, P.* 2009. Freshwater fishes and biogeography. Renewable Natural Resources Seminar Series, LSU RNR, April 31. (INVITED TALK)
Chakrabarty, P.* 2009. How fishes can help us better understand evolution and Earth history. Saturday Science Lecture Series, LSU Nicholson Hall, April 18. (INVITED TALK)
Chakrabarty, P.*, Smith, W.L., Sparks, J.S. 2008. Testing the Role of Sexual Selection in the
Evolution of Ponyfishes. Weekly Seminar, Institute of Marine Biology, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 16 November, 2008.(INVITED TALK)
Chakrabarty, P.* 2008. Pattern and Process in the Diversification of Fishes: Sexual Selection in Leiognathids and Biogeography of Neotropical Cichlids. Short-list job talk, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. 12 March 2008.(INVITED TALK)
Chakrabarty, P.* 2008. Pattern and Process in Marine and Freshwater Diversifications: Sexual Selection in Leiognathids and Biogeography of Neotropical Cichlids. Systematics Seminar Series, American Museum of Natural History, New York. 11 April 2008.
Chakrabarty, P.* 2008. Pattern and Process in Marine and Freshwater Diversifications: Sexual Selection in Leiognathids and Biogeography of Neotropical Cichlids. Short-list job talk, Smithsonian, Washington, D.C. 18 April 2008.(INVITED TALK)
Chu, J., Nahar, L., Sparks, J.S., Chakrabarty, P. ** 2008. Taxonomic status of
Photoplagios leuciscus Gunther 1860 (Teleostei:Leiognathidae). High School Science Reearch Progam, Poster Session. May 24, 2008.
2007 "On homology: A primer on comparative anatomy of the vertebrates" Guest lecture to Columbia University Ichthyology Class, American Museum of Natural History. 5 December 2007.
2006 "Phylogeny and Historical Biogeography of Greater Antillean and Middle American Cichlidae" + "Chalk Talk"; Short-list job talks, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago
Profiles/Media2001 McGill University Guide 2000-2001. Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences p. 20.
2006 University of Michigan, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Newsletter, Natural Selections, Graduate Profile 3 (1) p. 4.
2006
Clarke, M.
New Nandus species described. Practical Fishkeeping.
2007 Ng, H.H.
Central American cichlids renamed. Practical Fishkeeping.
2008 Berthelot, A.
LSU Museum of Natural Science Welcomes New Curator of Fishes. LSU Highlights, December.
2008 Ward, S.
Biologist pursues rare fish. The Advocate, Baton Rouge. December 28
2009 Wyatt, S.
The Cave Systems of Madagascar.Conservation International: Biodiversity Hotspots, January.
2009 Alford, J. (2009) LSU is studying two new fish species from the Gulf. 10/12 Corridor Weekly & Gambit. November 9.
2009 Alford, J. (2009) New fish found off Terrebonne’s Coast. Houma Today, & Thibodaux Daily Comet. November 5.
2009 AP (2009) LSU curator gets $520,000 to study cichlids. Houma Daily Courier. November 3.
2009 Daily Reveille (2009) News Item. Brief synopsis of NSF cichlid grant. November 4.
2009 NPR/WRKF (2009) Local/State News Item. Broadcast brief synopsis of research and recently funded cichlid grant. Morning Edition Local News, Item, November 3rd
2009 Berthelot, A. (2009) LSU Highlights: LSU Ichthyologists Lands Major Grant to study fish family history http://www.lsu.edu/highlights/2009/11/fish.shtml (linked to AAAS’s EurekAlert)
2010 Blum, J. (2010) “Serpent’ footage captured by LSU. The Advocate, Baton Rouge. February 22.
2010 Nunmaker, C. (2009) LSU ichthyologist discovers new species of fish, grabs a grant. Tiger Weekly. December 10.
OIL SPILL RESPONSE; Interviewed by NPR, BBC, NY Times, Science, Discovery News, ABC resulting in over 100 articles published including many in foreign languages, selected articles below
Discovery News (2010) Oil spill threatens funky flat fish: big pic. June 17
http://news.discovery.com/animals/oil-spill-pancake-batfish.html
Lynch, Kelly (2010) Little-known pancake batfish could be one of oil spill's early victims. June 16. CNN.com (LEAD ARTICLE; translated into more than 10 languages, through CNN and affiliates) http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/14/gulf.oil.threatened.species/index.html?hpt=C2
Schenkman, Lauren (2010) Not Just Pelicans in Peril, But Pancake Batfish, Too. Science [Science Insider], June 4. http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2010/06/not-just-pelicans-in-peril- but-p.html
Shogren, Elizabeth. (2010) Scientists: Dispersants Compounded Oil Spill. National Public Radio, June 7 - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127525694
CBS radio news station KNX in Los Angeles. (2010) Interviewed about the Gulf Oil Spill. June 1
Brown, Matthew (2010) Scientists warn of unseen deepwater oil disaster. ABC News. May 31
Harnden, Toby, and Evans, Martin. (2010) U.S rejects calls to take control of oil spill. Telegraph.co.UK. May 31 (also picked up by the Montreal Gazette)
Mail Foreign Service (2010) Gulf oil spill ‘won’t be stopped until August’: Officials in grim prediction as BP shares take a battering in Europe. Daily Mail. May 31
Brown, Matthew (2010) As oil washes through mysterious depths, scientists warn of unseen calamity. Associated Press. May 31 (Picked up by Forbes, The Boston Herald; Winnipeg Free Press, Singapore Press, and several local outlets)
Quotation of the Day (2010) Ventura County Star. May 31
Ryan, Stephanie. (2010). Oil could kill entire fish species. ABC 2, WBRZ. May 28, 2010. (http://www.wbrz.com/news/oil-could-kill-entire-fish-species/)
Awards & Honors
1999 McGill University Macdonald Campus Gold Key Award for outstanding contributions to extra curricular activities
2000
Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Award - for extra curricular activity and academic record
2000 Valedictorian Class of 2000, of the Macdonald Campus of McGill University
2005
University of Michigan Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award , (Highest honor given to GSIs under the auspices of the University of Michigan)
2006
Carl and Laura Hubbs Fellow, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.
Best Freshwater Session Speaker, 8th Indo Pacific Fish Conference, Freemantle, Australia (3rd place overall in Freshwater Section)
Grants and Fellowship1997 Jean Brown Scholarship $ 500, for outstanding contributions to extra curricular activities
1998 - 2000 Quebec Bursary for Undergraduates, covered all tuition costs for undergraduate degree
2000 Canadian Millennium Scholarship for high academic standing, reduced and deferred student loan
2001-
2003 FCAR - Fonds de la recherche en sante du Quebec. Scholarship for
graduate studies from Quebec, totaling $ 5,000 Canadian per school
semester. $25,000 total.
2002-2005 EEB Block Grant//Okkelberg Award, $3667 towards research needs
2002-2005 EEB/Rackham Travel Grant, $ 3300 for travel to ASIH and for fieldwork
2003,2005 Rackham Discretionary Fund, for $ 2350 for research equipment
2004-2005 Museum of Zoology Hinsdale Scholarship Award $ 3,941 for research
2005 UMMZ Fish Division Grant, $ 1200 for research and travel
2005 Peter Okkelberg Award, $1410 for research
2005 Museum of Zoology Hinsdale Scholarship Award $1,694
2005-2006 Carl and Laura Hubbs Fellow, pays entire graduate stipend
2006 Donald W. Tinkle Scholarship, $3,500 award
2007- NSF Postdoctoral Fellow, American Museum of Natural History (on John Sparks's Leiognathidae project)
2008 Lerner Gray Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. Stipend + $8000 research expenses for two years. Not taken in lieu of LSU position.
2009-2012 NSF REVSYS: Reconstructing Heroini (Teleostei:Cichlidae) – Of Heroes, Convicts, Angels and Red Devils. PC is sole PI. $519,944
Selected Synergistic Activities/Peer Review Contributions
Encyclopedia of Life, Curator (www.eol.org)
Genome 10K, Affiliate (http://genome10k.org/)
Book Editor, Copeia
Editorial Board, Copeia
Board of Governors, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
Assistant Editor, Journal of Fish Biology
Presenter, to elementary school children at the East Baton Rouge Parish Library. Spoke about Fish Diversity and the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill. July 15, 2010
Judge, Best student paper award in Ichthyology (Stoye Award) Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. Providence, Rhode Island. July 8-13,2010
Panelist, Gulf Oil Spill Information Session at the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologist and Herpetologists, July 11,2010 (Providence, Rhode Island)
High School Science Research Program (HSSRP) Mentor. Training two students working in the Department of Ichthyology, AMNH. Winter/Spring 2008
Mentor in Morphometics, trained two New York City students in the High School Science Research Program (HSSRP) at the American Museum of Natural History to do both traditional and geometric morphometics, Summer 2007.
Mentor in Molecular Science, training a postdoctoral fellow and a visiting Indonesian scientist in extracting, amplifying and sequencing DNA in the Molecular Systematics Lab at the American Museum of Natural History, 2007
Graduate
Student Teaching Assistant for Evolution and the Nature of Science, 6
two hour undergraduate workshops for the University of Michigan
Evolution Theme Semester, January - March 2006
Outside reviewer, for submissions to
BMC Evolutionary Biology, Copeia, Chromosome Research,
American Museum Novitates, Cladistics, Journal of Fish Biology,
Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, Environmental Biology of Fishes,
Zootaxa ,
Aqua, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 2007 Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Grants (American Museum of Natural History), Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia
Recruiter
for the University of Michigan and Undergraduate Poster Judge at SACNAS
(Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science)
in Austin, Texas. October 21-24 2004
Recruiter for the
University of Michigan, as a representative for The College of
Literature, Science, and the Arts at HBCU-UP (Historically Black
Colleges & Universities - Undergraduate Program) National Research
Conference New Orleans, Louisiana. February 10 - 13, 2005
2005 - 2006 President of Graduate Researchers in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
GREEBs
2004 - 2005 University of Michigan, Admissions Committee
2004 - 2005 Graduate Student Representative to the UMMZ Curator's Meetings.
2003 - 2004 University of Michigan, EEB Diversity Committee, to advance the profile of women and minority job candidates and to arrange workshops
dealing with "Work/Life Balance", "Career Options", and "Obtaining
postdoctoral and other professional positions in ecology and
evolutionary biology"
Winter 2000 McGill University, MacDonald Campus Student Society (MCSS) President
1996 - 2000 McGill University, Agriculture, Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Society (AESUS) President
Selected Scientific Workshops/Symposia Attended
Spring
2003 Systematics at a Crossroads Again: Biological and Philosophical
Arguments in Contemporary Phylogenetics, A. Watson Armour III Spring
Symposium, Field Museum, Chicago, May 10
Spring 2005 Theory and Practice of Direct Optimization using POY, American Museum of Natural History, May 16-18
Winter
2005 Workshop on Problems of Phylogenetic Analysis of Large Datasets,
Mathematical Biosciences Institute, Ohio State University, December 1-2
Winter 2005 OSU Phylogenetics Symposium and Workshop, Ohio State University, Museum of Biological Diversity, December 3-4
2005 Evolution, Fairbanks, Alaska
2005 Congress on Caribbean Biodiversity V, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 25-28 January
8th Indo Pacific Fish Conference, Freemantle, Australia, June 2009
2000-2004, 2006-2010 Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH)
Teaching Workshops AttendedFall 2003 Learning the Sciences: Moving active learning from the lab to the lecture
by Dr. Chris O'Neal, Instructional Consultant, Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT), University of Michigan
Winter 2004 Graduate Student Mentor (GSM) Training Seminar
by Dr. Chris O'Neal, Instructional Consultant, Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT), University of Michigan
