Degrees:

• B.S. Biology/Chemistry – West Liberty University, 2009
• Ph.D. Biology – Auburn University, 2018
• Postdoctoral Fellow – Auburn University, 2018-2020

Courses:

• BIO 478/578 – Phylogenetics

Current Research Projects:

I am interested in the intersection of bioinformatics and systematics, combining traditional taxonomic and natural history research with advanced computational approaches to better understand relationships between species.  My work has focused on mainly invertebrates with a special emphasis on spiders, crayfish, and freshwater mussels.

Publications:

Garrison, Nicole L, Michael S Brewer, and Jason E Bond. “Shifting Evolutionary Sands: Transcriptome Characterization of the Aptostichus Atomarius Species Complex.” BMC Evolutionary Biology 20, no. 1 (2020): 1–12.

Wright, Aaliyah D, Nicole L Garrison, Williams Ashantye’S, Paul D Johnson, and Nathan V Whelan. “Range Reduction of the Oblong Rocksnail, Leptoxis Compacta, Shapes Riverscape Genetic Patterns.” BioRxiv, 2020.

Garrison, Nicole L, Nathan V Whelan, and Paul D Johnson. “Conservation Genomics Reveals Low Genetic Diversity and Multiple Parentage in the Threatened Freshwater Mussel, Margaritifera Hembeli.” BioRxiv, 2020.

Godwin, Rebecca L, Vera Opatova, Nicole L Garrison, Chris A Hamilton, and Jason E Bond. “Phylogeny of a Cosmopolitan Family of Morphologically Conserved Trapdoor Spiders (Mygalomorphae, Ctenizidae) Using Anchored Hybrid Enrichment, with a Description of the Family, Halonoproctidae Pocock 1901.” Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 126 (2018): 303–13.

Folt, Brian, Nicole Garrison, Craig Guyer, Juanita Rodriguez, and Jason E Bond. “Phylogeography and Evolution of the Red Salamander (Pseudotriton Ruber).” Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 98 (2016): 97–110.

Garrison, Nicole L, Juanita Rodriguez, Ingi Agnarsson, Jonathan A Coddington, Charles E Griswold, Christopher A Hamilton, Marshal Hedin, Kevin M Kocot, Joel M Ledford, and Jason E Bond. “Spider Phylogenomics: Untangling the Spider Tree of Life.” PeerJ 4, no. e1719 (2016).

Bond, Jason E, Nicole L Garrison, Chris A Hamilton, Rebecca L Godwin, Marshal Hedin, and Ingi Agnarsson. “Phylogenomics Resolves a Spider Backbone Phylogeny and Rejects a Prevailing Paradigm for Orb Web Evolution.” Current Biology 24, no. 15 (2014): 1765–71.

Loughman ZJ, Foltz DA, Garrison NL, Welsh SA. “Cambarus (P.) Theepiensis, a New Species of Crayfish (Decapoda:Cambaridae) from the Coalfields Region of Eastern Kentucky and Southwestern West Virginia, USA.” Zootaxa 3641, no. 1 (2013): 63–73.

Bond, Jason E, Chris A Hamilton, Nicole L Garrison, and Charles H Ray. “Phylogenetic Reconsideration of Myrmekiaphila Systematics with a Description of the New Trapdoor Spider Species Myrmekiaphila Tigris (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Cyrtaucheniidae, Euctenizinae) from Auburn, Alabama.” ZooKeys, no. 190 (2012): 95.

Loughman ZJ, Garrison NL, Welsh SA, Simon TP. “Zoogeography, Conservation, and Ecology of Crayfishes within the Cheat River Basin of the Upper Monongahela River Drainage,” Vol. 82, 2010.

Interests and Hobbies:

I spend time gardening, woodworking (making things in general), camping, and hiking.  Some of my indoor interests include watching horrible films and delightful British panel shows.