Dr. Jerald B. Johnson, PhD

Brigham Young University

Taxonomic Focus: Fishes

Address: 153 WIDB Provo, UT 84602, USA
Phone: 1 (801) 422-4502
E-mail: jerry.johnson@byu.edu

Research:

Dr. Johnson’s research focus is in evolutionary ecology. He is interested in understanding the interplay between ecological processes and evolutionary diversification. His work spans several traditional disciplines in ecology and evolution, ranging from population ecology to molecular phylogeography. Current projects in his laboratory include demographic analyses of fishes and lizards, studies of parallel life history evolution and incipient speciation, including the evolution of mating strategies, and conservation genetics of fishes in desert springs.

Dr. Johnson’s research in Patagonia examines evolutionary diversification and population histories of catfishes. Recent work has focused on understanding the geographical and ecological mechanisms that underlie genetic differentiation in the pencil catfish Trichomycterus areolatus of Chile. His research team is now expanding this effort to include other catfish species, most notably the widespread species Hatcheria macraei found throughout Patagonia. Related projects focus on morphological adaptation and ecological differentiation in Patagonian fishes. In the end, his team hopes to understand how Patagonian fishes have diversified and what environmental and abiotic factors are responsible for this remarkable variation.

His lab group is working closely with other members of the Patagonia fish team (see Taxonomic Groups) to understand the broader impact of historical events in this region on overall fish diversity. Patterns discerned from these data will eventually be combined with patterns found in other Patagonian taxa (crabs, plants, lizards, frogs, etc.) to reveal the overall impact of earth’s history on biodiversity in this important region of the world.

Related Publications:

Johnson, J. B., T. E. Dowling, and M. C. Belk. 2004. Neglected taxonomy of rare desert fishes: congruent evidence for two species of leatherside chub. Systematic Biology 53:841-854.

Johnson, J. B. and K. S. Omland. 2004. Model selection in ecology and evolution. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 19:101-108.

Johnson, J. B. 2002. Evolution after the flood: phylogeography of the desert fish Utah chub. Evolution 56:948-960.

Ruckelshaus, M. H., P. Levin, J. B. Johnson, and P. M. Kareiva. 2002. The Pacific salmon wars: what science brings to the challenge of conserving species. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 33:665-706.

Johnson, J. B. 2001. Adaptive life-history evolution in the livebearing fish Brachyrhaphis rhabdophora: genetic basis for parallel divergence in age and size at maturity and a test of predator-induced phenotypic plasticity. Evolution 55:1486-1491.

Academic Background:

BA (’93) University of Utah
PhD (’00) University of Vermont
Associate Professor and Assistant Curator of Fishes at the M. L. Bean Museum, Department of Integrative Biology, Brigham Young University (’04–present)

Biography:

Dr. Johnson is the director of the PIRE Speciation in Patagonia Project. He has long maintained an interest in international field research, especially throughout the Americas. As an undergraduate he spent time in the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador and later in Brazil, solidifying his desire to understand patterns of global biodiversity. He is currently working on fish life history evolution and speciation in Central America (Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama), on fish conservation genetics and demography in North America (deserts of the Great Basin and southern Mexico), and on comparative phylogeography and parallel evolution research for the PIRE project in South America (Chile and Argentina). In addition to his work in Latin America, Dr. Johnson is planning to return to China in 2007 to explore potential research opportunities (he spent two years in Taiwan as an undergraduate conducting service for his church). Dr. Johnson is a past recipient of a National Science Foundation Graduate Training Fellowship at the University of Vermont and of a National Academy of Sciences NRC Postdoctoral Associateship at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He is currently on the faculty at BYU where he teaches evolutionary biology and serves as the Assistant Curator of Fishes at M.L. Bean Life Science Museum.

Website:

Personal: http://lifesciences.byu.edu/home/FacStaff?ID=163
Lab: http://biology.byu.edu/faculty/jbj59