Laura P. Lagomarsino
Assistant Professor
Office: LSA 257
Labs: LSA 257A/257B,D/303
Phone: 225-578-8555
Phone (lab): 225-578-8550
Email: [email protected]
Area of Interest
My research focuses on phylogenetics, systematics, and macroevolution of angiosperms, with a focus on the Neotropics. My primary study system are the Neotropical bellflowers (Campanulaceae: Lobelioideae), a rapid radiation with a large degree of morphological and ecological diversity. In general, I am fascinated by patterns of biodiversity and the evolutionary processes that generate them, especially within the Andean biodiversity hotspot, whose flora is characterized by high species richness and clades with rapid diversification rates. I am particularly interested in disentangling the relative roles that recent mountain building and shifts between pollinators have played in generating exceptional species-richness in this region, at both micro- and macroevolutionary scales. My research integrates molecular systematics, alpha taxonomy, biogeography, pollination biology, and population genetics. I rely heavily on herbarium specimens to extract diverse data types, from morphological measurements to DNA sequences obtained via high throughput sequencing.
Selected Publications
Lagomarsino, L. P., F. Condamine, A. Mulch, A. Antonelli, and C. Davis. 2016. The abiotic and biotic drivers of rapid diversification in Andean bellflowers (Campanulaceae). New Phytologist. doi: 10.1111/nph.13920
Lagomarsino, L.P. and D. Santamaría-Aguilar. 2016. Two new species of Siphocampylus (Campanulaceae: Lobelioideae) from the Central Andes. Phytokeys 58: 105–117.
Lagomarsino, L.P., D. Santamaría-Aguilar, and N. Muchhala. 2015. Two new species of Burmeistera (Campanulaceae: Lobelioideae) from the Cordillera de Talamanca of Costa Rica and Panama, with a key to the Central American species. Systematic Botany 40(3): 914–921.
Lagomarsino, L. P., A. Antonelli, N. Muchhala, A. Timmermann, S. Mathews, and C. Davis. 2014. Phylogeny, classification, and fruit evolution of the species-rich Neotropical bellflowers (Campanulaceae: Lobelioideae). American Journal of Botany 101(12): 2097–2112.
Lagomarsino, L.P., A. L. Grusz, and R. C. Moran. 2012. Primary hemi-epiphytism and gametophyte morphology in Elaphoglossum amygdalifolium (Dryopteridaceae). Brittonia 64(2): 226–235.
Kirchoff, B.K., L.P. Lagomarsino, W.H. Newman, M.E. Bartlett, and C.D. Specht. 2009. Early floral development of Heliconia latispatha Benth., a key taxon for understanding evolution of flower development in the Zingiberales. American Journal of Botany 96(3): 580–593.