Erika Garcia

• Doctor of Philosophy
• NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Wisconsin–Madison

Morphology has long been used to classify and identify living organisms. However, taxonomic descriptions are often limited to qualitative descriptions of size and shape, making identification difficult due to the subjective language used to describe complex shapes. Additionally, for some taxa, there are few reliable qualitative characters available...

Local microgeographic sites subdivided by sharp ecological and climatic contrasts are important platforms for measuring biodiversity patterns and inferring the possible effect of climatic and ecological variables on species distributions and habitat use. Here, we report results from 24 months (September 2019–August 2021) of continuous pitfall trapp...

This study summarizes the taxonomic treatment of the camel spider genus Chanbria Muma, 1951. Taking an integrative taxonomic approach incorporating phylogenomic, morphological, and geographical information, the genus is herein revised. Of the four species currently placed in the genus, two are retained: Chanbria regalis Muma, 1951 and Chanbria serp...

Advanced sequencing technologies have expedited resolving higher-level arthropod relationships. Yet, dark branches persist, principally among groups occurring in cryptic habitats. Among chelicerates, Solifugae (“camel spiders”) is the last order lacking a higher-level phylogeny and thus, historically characterized as “neglected [arachnid] cousins”....

Considerable progress has been achieved in resolving higher-level relationships of Arthropoda in the past two decades, largely precipitated by advances in sequencing technology. Yet, dark branches persist in the arthropod tree of life, principally among groups that are difficult to collect, occur in cryptic habitats, or are characterized by minute...

The arachnid order Schizomida is a relatively understudied group of soil-dwelling predators found on all continents except Antarctica. While efforts to understand their biology are growing, there is still much to know about them. A curious aspect of their morphology is the male flagellum, a sexually dimorphic, tail-like structure which differs in s...

Many animals, including many arachnids, return to an established ''home'' after an active period. Although desert-adapted solifuges shelter from the sun in retreats, it is unknown if these solifuges ''home'' to and re-use the same retreats over multiple consecutive periods. We sought to investigate whether individual solifuges exhibit site fidelity...

The arachnid order Schizomida is a relatively understudied group of soil-dwelling predators found on all continents except Antarctica. While efforts to understand their biology are growing, there is still much to know about them. A curious aspect of their morphology is the male flagellum, a sexually dimorphic, tail-like structure which differs in s...

The Southern Appalachians and adjacent provinces of the southeastern USA are geologically and biologically diverse, with high levels of endemism. Phylogeographic analyses indicate that animals with small distributions in these regions often contain cryptic diversity and that Pleistocene climate fluctuations had significant impacts on their distribu...

Despite the dominance of terrestriality in spiders, species across a diverse array of families are associated with aquatic habitats. Many species in the spider family Dictynidae are associated with water, either living near it or, in the case of Argyroneta aquatica, in it. Previous studies have indicated that this association arose once within the...

The eight‐eyed haplogyne spider family Plectreuridae Simon, 1893 is one of the oldest of spider families, currently comprising two genera (Kibramoa and Plectreurys), 30 extant species and one subspecies. Plectreuridae have not been rigorously examined since 1958, with only three new species added to Plectreurys. This study revisited a subset of tax...

Despite the dominance of terrestriality in spiders, species across a diverse array of families are associated with aquatic habitats. Many species in the spider family Dictynidae are associated with water, either living near it or, in the case of Argyroneta aquatica, in it. Previous studies have indicated that this association arose once within the...