Position and Education

• Curator & Head, Division of Invertebrates.


• Lecturer, Committee on Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago.



• M.Sc., Biology, Geography and Biology-Education, University of Hamburg, 1982.


• Ph.D., Zoology, University of Hamburg, 1985.

In the Lab

Concurrent and Past Positions and Functions

• Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Smithsonian Institution, 1985-1986.
  
• Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Smithsonian Marine Station, 1986-1987.


• Postdoctoral Research Fellow, NATO, 1987-1988.


• Research Associate, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 1988-1995.
  
• Research Associate, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, 1989-1992.
  
• Research Associate, American Museum of Natural History, 1998-.
  
• Adjunct Scientist, Mote Marine Laboratory/Florida Keys Tropical Research Laboratory, 2006-.
  
• Adjunct Faculty, Graduate College of Marine Studies, University of Delaware, 1988-1991.
  
• Assistant Curator of Malacology, Delaware Museum of Natural History, 1988-1990.
  
• Assistant Curator, Division of Invertebrates, Field Museum, 1990-1993.
  
• Associate Curator, Division of Invertebrates, Field Museum, 1993-2004.
  
• Chairman, Department of Zoology, Field Museum, 1998-2002.


• Academic Affairs Management Group (Acting Vice President), Field Museum, 1999-2001.
  
• Acting Executive Director, Delaware Museum of Natural History, 1990.
  
• President, Unitas Malacologica, International Society of Malacology, 1995-1998.
  
• President, American Malacological Union (now American Malacological Society), 1995-1996.
  
• President, Institute of Malacology (publishers of Malacologia), 1998-2001, 2009-.
  
• Associate Editor: Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 1995-.
  
• Associate Editor (Mollusca: Bivalvia): Zootaxa, 2006-.
  
• Editorial Board Member: The Nautilus, Malakologische Abhandlungen/Mollusca, The Yuriyagai, Iberus, Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica, Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia, Arquivos de Zoologia etc.
  
• Trustee, Board of Directors, Delaware Museum of Natural History, 1991-1999.



Off the Florida Keys (© L. Funkhouser)

Research Programs

Research concentrates on the evolution, comparative anatomy, zoogeography and reproductive biology of gastropods (snails) and bivalves (clams and relatives). Emphasis is placed on the currently unresolved "higher-level" phylogenetic relationships between various gastropod orders and subclasses, as well on the largest marine bivalve family, Veneridae. Data are collected by employing a combination of field and laboratory techniques (ranging from collecting by SCUBA diving to serial-section histology and DNA sequencing), and are derived in part from The Field Museum's extensive holdings of Recent and fossil mollusks. More narrowly defined subprojects deal with several groups of marine snail families, including the lower heterobranchs. These are not only of interest due to their unusual anatomical features and still uncertain relationships to other snail groups, but their long-range larval distribution and excellent fossil record also allows to address general biological questions such as: How do high-dispersal marine invertebrate animals speciate? Also continuing is monographic work on worm-snails (an enigmatic group that includes important reef builders in the world's oceans), forming the basis for future phylogenetic and zoogeographic studies. Another ongoing project is the first in-depth survey of marine molluscan biodiversity in the Florida Keys. Details can be found by following the links below:

GASTROPOD PHYLOGENY AND SYSTEMATICS


• General


• "Lower Heterobranchs"


• "Worm Snails"



---


BIVALVE PHYLOGENY AND SYSTEMATICS

• Bivalve PEET program



---


MOLLUSCAN DIVERSITY



---


MALACOLOGICAL RESOURCES



---


PEARLS EXHIBITION



---


PUBLICATIONS



---


EOLIS Stations