PhD Candidate
bbj23@cornell.edu
Research Interests
I am broadly interested in how functional organismal traits drive patterns of biological diversity across evolutionary and geographic scales. How do genomes and phenotypes interact with their biotic and abiotic environments to pattern evolution among populations, species, and clades? I approach these broad questions using techniques in evolutionary genetics and physiological ecology. My current research examines the evolution of thermal and respiratory physiology of ambystomatid and plethodontid salamanders.
Brief CV
- 2009 – BS, Animal Biology, University of California, Davis
- 2009-11 – Research Technician, UC Davis Dept. of Evolution & Ecology
- 2011-present – PhD Candidate, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University
- 2012-2013 – SUNY Diversity Fellow
- 2013-2015 – Cornell University Fellow
- 2015-present – Ford Foundation Fellow
Teaching Appointments
Publications
Johnson, B.B., Searle, J.B. & Sparks, J.P., in press. Novel allometric estimators improve estimation accuracy of body surface area, volume, and surface area-to-volume ratio in lungless salamanders (Urodela: Plethodontidae). Herpetologica. [Allen Press]
Johnson, B.B., Searle, J.B. & Sparks, J.P., 2021. Genome size influences adaptive plasticity of water loss, but not metabolic rates in lungless salamanders. Journal of Experimental Biology, 224, jeb242196. [JEB]
Genova, L.A., Johnson, B.B., Castelli, F.R., Arcila Hernández, L.M., Chang van Oordt, D.A., Demery, A.J., Fletcher, N.K., Goud, E.M., Holmes, K.D., Houtz, J.L. and Howard, M.M., (2020). What is Speciation, How Does It Occur, and Why Is It Important for Conservation? CourseSource, 7. [CourseSource]
Johnson B.B., White, T.A., Phillips, C.A. and Zamudio, K.R., 2015. Asymmetric introgression in a spotted salamander hybrid zone. Journal of Heredity, 106, 608-617. [Oxford]
Wang, I.J., Johnson, J.R., Johnson, B.B., and Shaffer, H.B., 2011. Effective population size is strongly correlated with breeding pond size in the endangered California tiger salamander, Ambystoma californiense. Conservation Genetics, 12, 911-920. [Springer]
Johnson, J.R., Johnson, B.B., and Shaffer, H.B., 2010. Genotype and temperature affect locomotor performance in a tiger salamander hybrid swarm. Functional Ecology, 24, 1073-1080. [Wiley]