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Daniel Spalink
- Assistant Professor and Director of S.M. Tracy Herbarium
- Office:
- WFES 312
- Email:
- dspalink@tamu.edu
- Phone:
- (979) 458-1118
- Resume/CV
- https://spalinklab.tamu.edu
- Undergraduate Education
- B.S. Biology, Calvin College
- Graduate Education
- Ph.D. Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Pronouns
he/him/his
Professional Summary
Daniel Spalink is an Assistant Professor of Plant Systematics in the Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology at Texas A&M University and Director of the S.M. Tracy Herbarium (TAES). Daniel received his Ph.D. from the Department of Botany at the University of Wisconsin-Madison under Dr. Kenneth Sytsma, where he studied the ecological and biogeographical diversification of the sedge family, Cyperaceae. He then conducted a postdoc under Dr. Thomas Givnish at UW-Madison, where he studied the biogeography and diversification of the orchid family (Orchidaceae) and the spatial structure of phylogenetic diversity in the Wisconsin flora. Before joining the faculty at Texas A&M University, Daniel conducted a second postdoc under Dr. Lynn Bohs at the University of Utah, where he studied the genomic structure of phylogenetic discordance in the pepper tribe, Capsiceae.
Research Interests and Specializations
Plant Systematics and Biogeography
The Spalink Lab
Research in the Spalink lab sits at the intersection of evolution, ecology, and geography. Projects in the lab range from studying the dynamics of genetic diversity within species to the evolution of entire plant orders, and from regional patterns of community assembly to the global structure of phylogenetic and functional diversity. As climate changes, habitats fragment, and extinction rates rise, we use this evolutionary perspective to understand the processes through which species have evolved and assembled so that we are better equipped to protect them. Projects in the lab incorporate field work, genomics, geography, morphometrics, distribution modeling, and informatics.