Eric Lewallen
Email: lewallen.eric@gmail.com
I have been interested in fishes since catching my first largemouth bass in Minnesota with my father at age 5. Since then, sailing and scuba diving have contributed to my curiosity about underwater organisms and their habitats. As an undergraduate at the University of Colorado at Boulder, I was fortunate enough to travel around the world on a ship during a Semester at Sea study abroad program. This opportunity gave me a real appreciation for how much of the planet is blue and how little of the ocean is fully understood. So I became involved in research on the global phylogenetics of hammerhead sharks in Dr. Andrew Martin’s lab. After completing my honors thesis and graduating from CU-Boulder, I was part of an internet teaching program that sailed from Fiji to Vanuatu to Australia on a 44 ft sailboat. Scuba diving in those places, including the Great Barrier Reef, solidified my desire to pursue a career in marine biology. In August of 2006, I completed a master’s degree at San Diego State University where I worked with Dr. Andrew Bohonak and Dr. Todd Anderson on the genetic population structure of leopard sharks in California waters. I did several hundred dives while living in southern California, and took thousands of underwater photographs of various organisms including sharks. These experiences further contributed to my fascination with the marine environment. My current research interests include: population genetics, phylogenetic systematics, elasmobranch genetics, fisheries management, ecological niche modeling and geographic information systems. I am currently working with Dr. Nathan Lovejoy on the phylogenetic systematics of flyingfishes (family Exocoetidae) and ecological modeling of species within the genus Exocoetus. Dr. Rick Winterbottom (Senior Curator of Ichthyology - Royal Ontario Museum), Dr. Lisa Manne (Spatial Ecologist - University of Toronto), and Dr. Robert Pitman (NOAA-Southwest Fisheries Science Center) are advising me on this project. I have long term goals of continued marine research and teaching undergraduate students in experiential settings, such as field courses and study abroad programs.
Publications:
Lewallen, E. A., T. W. Anderson and A. J. Bohonak. 2007. Genetic structure of leopard shark (Triakis semifasciata) populations in California waters. Marine Biology 152: 599-609.
Vandergast, A. G., E. A. Lewallen, J. Deas, A. J. Bohonak, D. B. Weissman, and R. N. Fisher. 2008. Loss of genetic connectivity and diversity in urban microreserves in a southern California endemic Jerusalem cricket (Orthoptera: Stenopelmatidae: Stenopelmatus "santa monica"). Journal of Insect Conservation DOI 10.1007/s10841-008-9176-2.