Gail Stratton (Faculty Member is Retired, or has otherwise left the University)
Coordinator of Laboratory Programs in of Biology
Phone Number: (662)915-5786
Email: byges@olemiss.edu
http://olemiss.edu/depts/biology/people/faculty/stratton/index.php

Key Words: Spiders

Research Description: Spiders have long been my main research focus as they are an amazingly diverse group of organisms. Spiders have clear and unambiguous synapomorphies (the evolution of the spigots and spinnerets and their use of silk) yet, at the level of families, relationships are still not clear. Spiders represent a "megadiverse" group rivaling some of the large insect orders with credible estimates of over 100,000 species, but unlike the other large orders of arthropods, they are the only such group to be entirely predatory. Their predatory nature makes them particularly interesting for studies focusing on courtship and sexual selection: selection pressure in the form of cannibalism can be swift.

My research spans four areas:

1. the nature of a species, species concepts and speciation,
2. evolution of behavior and the importance of behavior in evolution,
3. Systematics of wolf spiders including species descriptions and phylogenetic studies and
4. the effects of fragmentation of habitat and small population size on fitness parameters.

Honors Theses:

Wilson, Logan (2016) Christian Faith and Evolution: One Person's Journey in Science and in Faith;. (full text)

Howell, Hillary Michelle (2012) "Investigation of Brown Recluse (Loxosceles reclusa) and Black Widow (Latrodectus mactans) Spider-Bite Diagnoses by Medical Professionals Across Three Regions of Mississippi"