Text Box:        Dr. Sam Marshall               Department of Biological Sciences 317 Bienvenu Hall ph: (318) 357-4083 email: marshalls (at) nsula.edu Education A.B., Bard College, 1981 M.S., University of Cincinnati, 1989 Ph.D., University of Tennessee at Knoxville, 1994 Professional Experience Director, J.H. Barrow Field Station, Garrettsville, OH, 1999-2004 Postdoctoral Research Scholar, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 1994-1999 Courses I Teach Biological Principles II (Biol 1020) Biological Principles Laboratory I & II (Biol 1011 & 1021) Basic Concepts of Biological Science (Sci 1020) General Ecology (Biol 4400) General Ecology Lab (Biol 4401 Research interests I study the ecological and evolutionary factors that promote and maintain species diversity.  I mostly do this using spiders, but I work with reptiles as well.  My research has been conducted in Florida scrub, soybean fields, French Guiana rainforest and freshwater wetlands. In these cases it seems I am drawn to questions relating to how spatial and temporal patterning influences species interactions.  I have been studying the evolutionary ecology of the Geolycosa wolf spiders of the southeastern US, particularly Florida. The distribution of this suite of species reflects the biogeographic history of Florida. It appears that competition is driving ecological speciation in co-occurring pairs of species. Locally I study how fluctuating water levels in a freshwater wetland influences the abundance and diversity of wolf spiders at a very small spatial scale (meters).  I am conducting this research at NSU's Aquaculture Research Center in Marco, LA.