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Assistant Curator of Zoology, Fishes
Year Started:
2007
Introduction:
I am an assistant curator of Zoology at The Field Museum and I teach at and have doctoral students through the Committee on Evolutionary Biology at The University of Chicago. My research focuses on the evolutionary biology of fishes. In particular, I am interested in the large-scale phenomena that have shaped the history and diversification of fishes in both geographic space and geologic time. I use a combination of phylogenetic trees, detailed anatomical and genomic analyses, and comparative and diversification analyses to understand the evolution of fishes. You can find additional information below or on my laboratory website. I hope you enjoy exploring the Division of Fishes and some images from our recent deep-sea collecting trip off California.
Education:
- Ph.D., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Columbia University, 2005
- M.Phil., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Columbia University, 2002
- M.S., Biology, Villanova University, 2001
- B.S., General Biology, University of California, San Diego, 1997
Interests:
- Evolution, diversification, and phylogenetics of spiny-rayed fishes (Acanthomorpha)
- The limits and relationships of mail-cheeked fishes
- Evolution of venomous fishes
- Gondwanan biogeography
Work Experience:
- Head, Division of Fishes, Field Museum of Natural History, 2008 -
- Faculty Member, Committee on Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago, 2008 -
- Assistant Curator, Department of Zoology, Field Museum of Natural History, 2007 -
- Research Associate, University of Kansas Natural History Museum, 2006 -
- Lerner Gray Postdoctoral Fellow, American Museum of Natural History, 2005 - 2007
Grants & Awards:
- NSF DEB-1060869, Collaborative research: Causes and consequences of exceptional diversity in spiny-rayed fishes (with P.C. Wainwright and T.J. Near), FMNH cover sheet $288,507, 2011-2014
- The Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-05-09-0041-09, Providing long-term security and access to genetic resources at Field Museum (with H.K. Voris), $120,999, 2009-2011
- NSF DEB-0732642, Collaborative research: Assembling the euteleost tree of life - addressing the major unresolved problem in vertebrate phylogeny, Principal Investigator (with PIs R.E. Broughton, K.E. Carpenter, T.C. Grande, J.A. Lopez, G. Lu, G. Ortí, E.O. Wiley, and co-PIs J. Diamond, N.I. Holcroft, G.D. Johnson, and C. Li), FMNH cover sheet $261,598, 2007-2012
- NSF DEB-0716155, Collaborative research: Phylogenetics and key innovations in labroid fishes, Co-Principal Investigator (with PIs P.C. Wainwright and T.J. Near), FMNH subcontract $12,500, 2007-2010
- NSF DEB-0405246, Dissertation research: Scorpionfish (Teleostei: Scorpaenoidei phylogenetics and the evolution of venom in fishes, Co-Principal Investigator (with PI M.L.J. Stiassny), $11,970, 2004-2006
Representative Publications (available for download at lab website):
- Near, T.J., Sandel, M., Kuhn, K.L., Unmack, P.J., Wainwright, P.C., and Smith, W.L. 2012. Nuclear gene-inferred phylogenies resolve the relationships of the enigmatic Pygmy Sunfishes, Elassoma (Teleostei: Percomorpha). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 63:388-395.
- Chakrabarty, P., Davis, M.P., Smith, W.L., Baldwin, Z.H. and Sparks, J.S. 2011. Is sexual selection driving diversification of the bioluminescent ponyfishes (Teleostei: Leiognathidae)? Molecular Ecology 20:2818-2834.
- Smith, W.L. 2010. Promoting Resolution of the Percomorph Bush: A Reply to Mooi and Gill. Copeia 2010:520-524.
- Smith, W.L., Chakrabarty, P., and Sparks, J.S. 2008. Phylogeny, taxonomy, and evolution of Neotropical cichlids (Teleostei: Cichlidae: Cichlinae). Cladistics 24:625-641.
- Smith, W.L. and Craig, M.T. 2007. Casting the percomorph net widely: The importance of broad taxonomic sampling in the search for the placement of serranid and percid fishes. Copeia 2007:35-55.
- Wheeler, W.C., Aagesen, L., Arango, C.P., Faivovich, J., Grant, T., D’Haese, C., Janies, D., Smith, W.L., Varon, A., and Giribet, G. 2006. Dynamic Homology and Phylogenetic Systematics: A Unified Approach Using POY. American Museum of Natural History, New York. ISBN 0-913424-58.7.
- Smith, W.L. and Wheeler, W.C. 2006. Venom evolution widespread in fishes: A road map for the bioprospecting of piscine venoms. Journal of Heredity 97:206-217.
- Sparks, J.S. and Smith, W.L. 2005. Freshwater fishes, dispersal ability, and non-evidence: “Gondwana life rafts” to the rescue. Systematic Biology 54:158-165.
- Sparks, J.S. and Smith, W.L. 2004. Phylogeny and biogeography of cichlid fishes (Teleostei: Perciformes: Cichlidae). Cladistics 20:501-517.
- Smith, W.L. and Wheeler, W.C. 2004. Polyphyly of the mail-cheeked fishes (Teleostei: Scorpaeniformes): Evidence from mitochondrial and nuclear sequence data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 32:627-646.