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Phone: (612) 625-5700
Fax: (612) 624-6777
Email: wiggins@umn.edu

University of Minnesota
Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
100 Ecology Building
1987 Upper Buford Circle
St. Paul, MN 55108

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Sharon A. Jansa

Assistant Professor, Dept. of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior;
Bell Museum of Natural History

Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1998

Contact Information

Phone: 612-624-6293
Fax: 612-624-6777
E-mail: jansa003@umn.edu

Graduate Faculty Memberships

Conservation Biology; Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior

Research Interests

Mammalian systematics, biogeography, phylogeography, phylogenetic theory, molecular systematics and evolution.

Statement

My research is primarily concerned with the systematics and biogeography of localized mammalian radiations. I am currently focusing on three isolated groups of mammals: the native rodents of Madagascar, the indigenous rodents of the Philippines, and South American didelphid marsupials. Each of these groups contains species that have evolved to take advantage of a wide range of ecological conditions and exhibit a broad array of morphological adaptations. Reconstructing the evolutionary history of these groups is the first step towards understanding which forces -- biological and geological -- have prompted their diversification. I employ DNA sequence data to infer phylogenetic history, and I work with traditional systematists to combine morphological and molecular data to provide a better understanding of mammalian evolutionary history.

Selected Publications


Jansa, S.A., F.K. Barker, and L.R. Heaney. (in press) Molecular Phylogenetics and Divergence Time Estimates for the Endemic Rodents of the Philippine Islands: Evidence from Mitochondrial and Nuclear Gene Sequences. Systematic Biology

Jansa, S.A., J. Forsman,* and R.S. Voss (2006). Different patterns of selection on the nuclear genes IRBP and DMP-1 affect the efficiency but not the outcome of phylogeny estimation for didelphid marsupials. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. [PDF] (*Undergraduate Student)

Jansa, S.A. and R.S. Voss (2005). Phylogenetic relationships of the marsupial genus Hyladelphys based on nuclear gene sequences and morphology. Journal of Mammalogy. 86(5):853-865 [PDF]

Jansa, S.A. and M. Weksler. (2004) Phylogeny of muroid rodents: Relationships within and among major lineages as revealed by nuclear IRBP gene sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 31:256-276. [PDF]

Voss, R.S. and S.A. Jansa. (2003) Phylogenetic studies on didelphid marsupials II. Nonmolecular data and new IRBP sequences: Separate and combined analyses of didelphine relationships with denser taxon sampling. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 276:82 pp. [PDF]

Jansa, S.A., B.L. Lundrigan, and P.K. Tucker (2003) Tests of positive selection on immune and reproductive genes in the murine genus Mus. Journal of Molecular Evolution 56:294-307. [PDF]

Lundrigan, B.L., S.A. Jansa, and P.K. Tucker (2002) Molecular phylogenetics of the genus Mus based on maternal, paternal, and bi-parentally inherited characters. Systematic Biology 51:410-431. [PDF]

Jansa, S.A. and R.S. Voss (2000) Phylogenetic studies on didelphid marsupials I: Introduction and preliminary results from IRBP gene sequences. Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 7(1):43-77. [PDF]

Jansa, S.A., S.M. Goodman, and P.K. Tucker (1999) Molecular phylogenetics of the native rodents of Madagascar: A test of the single origin hypothesis. Cladistics 15:253-270. [PDF]

Additional Links

Jansa Research Page

Bell Museum of Natural History

Animal Diversity Web