Mr. Keenan Morrison

Mr. Keenan Morrison, a graduate student in Dr. David Reznick’s laboratory at the University of California Riverside, visited the UMMZ fish collections at the Varsity Drive facility 9-16 July 2014.  Keenan explains: “My research examines how reproductive mode influences rates of speciation and evolutionary diversification.  The fish order Cyprinodontiformes is perfect for this type of work because there is a wide array of reproductive strategies among the species, ranging from egg-laying to live-bearing and placental.”   

Research by Dr. Reznick and his students has greatly increased knowledge of the evolution of the placenta and of life history patterns in poeciliids (mollies, guppies) and other cyprinodontiform fishes.  The Reznick lab has produced more than 20 publications based, entirely or in part, on analyses of UMMZ specimens.