• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
College of Agriculture & Life Sciences
  • Home
    • Welcome to ECCB
    • Faculty and Staff
  • Degrees & Programs
    • Undergraduate
      • Bachelor of Science in Ecology & Conservation Biology
        • Ecology & Conservation Biology Track
        • Ecoinformatics Track
        • Forest Resources Track
        • Vertebrate Zoology Track (pre-vet option)
      • Minor in Ecology and Conservation Biology
      • ESSM Undergraduate Legacy Degrees
      • High Impact Opportunities
      • Undergraduate Financial Support
    • Graduate
      • Master of Science in Ecology and Conservation Biology
      • Ph.D. in Ecology and Conservation Biology
      • Graduate Admissions
      • Graduate Policies and Procedures
      • Graduate Financial Support
        • Graduate Teaching Assistant Application
      • Research Safety and Training
    • Course Guide
    • Advising
    • Student Organizations
      • American Fisheries Society
      • Society for Ecological Restoration
      • Texas A&M Chapter of Society of American Foresters
      • Society for Conservation Biology
      • ECCB Graduate Student Association
    • Student Support Resources
      • Health and Safety Resources
      • Academic and Professional Resources
  • Research
    • Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collections
    • S.M. Tracy Herbarium
    • Stable Isotopes for Biosphere Science Lab
  • Diversity and Equity
    • Meet Our Team
  • News
  • ECCB Store
  • Giving
  • Contact
Search

← All People

Spalink, Daniel

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. 

Recent Publications

Spalink D, MacKay R, Sytsma KJ. 2019. Phylogeography, population genetics, and distribution modeling reveal vulnerability of Scirpus longii (Cyperaceae) and the Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora to climate change. Molecular Ecology, mec.15006.
 
Spalink D, Kriebel R, Li P, Pace MC, Drew BT, Zaborsky JG, Rose J, Drummond C, Feist MA, Alverson B, Waller D, Cameron KM, Givnish TJ, Sytsma KJ. 2018. Spatial phylogenetics reveals evolutionary constraints on the assembly of a large regional vascular flora. American Journal of Botany, 105, 1938-1950.
 
Spalink D, Pender J, Escudero M, Hipp A, Roalson E, Starr JR, Waterway M, Bohs L, Sytsma KJ. 2018. The spatial structure of phylogenetic and functional diversity in North America: an example using the sedge family (Cyperaceae). Journal of Systematics and Evolution, https://doi.org/10.1111/jse.12423.
 
Spalink D, Drew BT, Pace MC, Zaborsky JG, Cameron KM, Starr JR, Sytsma KJ. 2016. Biogeography of the cosmopolitan sedges (Cyperaceae) and the area-richness correlation in plants. Journal of Biogeography, 43(10), 1893-1904.
 
Spalink D, Drew BT, Pace MC, Zaborsky JG, Li P, Cameron KM, Givnish TJ, Sytsma KJ. 2016. Evolution of place and niche space: geographical diversification of the North American sedge flora (Cyperaceae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 95, 183-195.

More Information

  • About
  • Degrees & Programs
  • Facilities
  • Giving
  • Research
  • Opportunities
  • News & Events
  • Contact Us
Building #1537 - 534 John Kimbrough Blvd, College Station, TX 77843
(979-845-6295Contact Us

© 2022 Texas A&M University. All rights reserved.

  • Compact with Texans
  • Privacy and Security
  • Accessibility Policy
  • State Link Policy
  • Statewide Search
  • Veterans Benefits
  • Military Families
  • Risk, Fraud & Misconduct Hotline
  • Texas Homeland Security
  • Texas Veterans Portal
  • Equal Opportunity
  • Open Records/Public Information