Professor Emeritus and Curator Emeritus
About
Field of Study
Phylogenetics and ichthyology
Adademic Background
Dr. Fink received his PhD from George Washington University in 1976; his dissertation on deep-sea stomiiform fishes was directed by Dr. Stanley Weitzman of the Smithsonian Institution. He then joined the faculty of Harvard University where he was also curator of fishes in the Museum of Comparative Zoology. At the University of Michigan he is a Professor of Biology and Curator of Fishes in the Museum of Zoology. Dr. Fink is a past President of the Society of Systematic Biologists, former Editor of Copeia, Founding Fellow of the Hennig Society, and was awarded the LS&A Excellence in Education Award in 1999.
Research Interests
Dr. Fink's research interests include biology and systematics of fishes, particularly Neotropical species, higher classification, and theory of systematics and biogeography. He is currently working on phylogenetics of piranhas, including the evolution of growth patterns and trophic specializations, and the historical biogeography of the group. He is also continuing his studies of ostariophysan fish relationships. In his phylogenetic analyses, emphasis is being placed on non-traditional characters such as ontogenetic trajectories and morphometrics.
