Jason Munshi-South

EDUCATION

• AB, University of Chicago (2000)
• PhD, University of Maryland, College Park (2006)
• Posdoc, Smithsonian Institution (2006-2007)
• Assistant Professor, CUNY Baruch College (2007-2013)

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Members of the Munshi-South lab at Fordham University’s Louis Calder Center are dedicated to understanding the behavioral, ecological, and evolutionary impacts of large-scale human disturbance on wild vertebrate populations. Current lab projects are primarily focused on understanding the evolutionary implications of urbanization for wildlife in the New York City metropolitan area. For these studies, we employ complementary approaches from field ecology, population genomics, landscape genomics, and computational biology. We study urban populations as model systems of rapid microevolution, but also aim to provide data for urban conservation and restoration efforts. To this end we collaborate with local government agencies and non-profits.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

• Harris SE, Munshi-South J, Obergfell C, O’Neill R. (2013) Signatures of rapid evolution in urban and rural transcriptomes of white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) in the New York metropolitan area. PLoS ONE 8(8):e74938.

• Munshi-South J, Zak Y, Pehek E. (2013) Conservation genetics of extremely isolated urban populations of the Northern Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus fuscus) in New York City. PeerJ 1:e64.

• Munshi-South J. (2012) Urban landscape genetics: canopy cover predicts gene flow between white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) populations in New York City. Mol Ecol 21(6):1360-1378.

• Munshi-South J. (2011) Relatedness and demography of African forest elephants: inferences from noninvasive fecal DNA analyses. J Hered 102(4):391-398.

• Munshi-South J, Bernard H. (2011) Genetic diversity and distinctiveness of the proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus) of the Klias Peninsula, Sabah, Malaysia. J Hered 102(3):342-346.

• Munshi-South J, Kharchenko K. (2010) Rapid, pervasive genetic differentiation of urban white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) populations in New York City. Mol Ecol 19:4242-4254.

• Munshi-South J, Wilkinson GS. (2010) Bats and birds: Exceptional longevity despite high metabolic rates. Ageing Res Rev 9:12-19.