Dr. Alexis Janosik

• Position: Associate Professor and Graduate Program Coordinator
• Department: Biology
• Office Location: Building 58C, Room 104G
• ajanosik@uwf.edu
• Campus: 850.857.6033
• Janosik Laboratory

Biography

Dr. Alexis Janosik is an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Coordinator in the Department of Biology her research focuses on molecular ecology and evolution of invertebrates and fishes. Janosik’s research includes Environmental DNA, the evolutionary history of invertebrates and fish, Antarctica and the Gulf of Mexico, and phylogeography, the study of population genetics and the historical processes that may be responsible for the contemporary geographic distributions of individuals. Some of her most recent research focuses on the phylogeography of invertebrates of the Gulf of Mexico and on Environmental DNA (eDNA) of Gulf and Alabama Sturgeon.

Janosik previously examined environmental DNA as a tool for detecting imperiled fishes and conducted research on the evolutionary history of Southern Ocean seastar species and unrecognized Antarctic biodiversity, among other topics. Janosik has made three research trips to the Antarctic and one to the Atlantic Continental Shelf. Janosik’s work has been published in Environmental Biology of Fishes, Marine Biology, Polar Biology, and others.

Janosik has two degrees from Auburn University – a Ph.D. in Biology and a B.S. in Marine Biology. Her dissertation was titled “Seeing Stars: A Molecular and Morphological Investigation of Odontasteridae (Asteroidea).” Among the courses she teaches: Concepts of Oceanography & Marine Biology, Biology of Coral Reefs, Marine Mammalogy, and Tropical Marine Ecology in the Bahamas

Degrees & Institutions

Ph.D. Biology, Auburn University
B.S. Marine Biology, Auburn University

Research

Janosik’s research includes Environmental DNA, evolutionary history of invertebrates and fish, Antarctica and the Gulf of Mexico, and phylogeography, the study of population genetics and the historical processes that may be responsible for the contemporary geographic distributions of individuals. Some of her most recent research focuses on the phylogeography of invertebrates of the Gulf of Mexico and on Environmental DNA (eDNA) of Gulf and Alabama Sturgeon.

Publications

Janosik, A.M., Johnston C. E. (2015) Environmental DNA as an effective tool for detection of imperiled fishes. Environmental Biology of Fishes: 98: 1889-1893.

Janosik, A.M., Halanych, K.M. (2013) Seeing stars: a molecular and morphological investigation into the evolutionary history of Odontasteridae (Asteroidea) with description of a new species from the Galapagos Islands. Marine Biology 160: 821-841.

Janosik, A.M., Mahon, A.R., and Halanych, K.M. (2011) Evolutionary history of Southern Ocean seastar species separated by the Drake Passage (Odontasteridae; Asteroidea). Polar Biology 34: 575-586.

Janosik A.M., Halanych, K.M. (2010) Unrecognized Antarctic biodiversity: a case study with Odontaster(Odontasteridae; Asteroidea). Integr Comp Biol 50: 981-992.

Keywords: evolutionary history of invertebrates and fishes, environmental DNA (eDNA), phylogeography in Gulf of Mexico, environmental DNA of Alabama and Gulf sturgeon, Antarctic ecology, Antarctic biodiversity Southern Ocean seastar species, Odontasteridae