Andrea Coronel Walther

Research Interests

My research focuses on freshwater pulmonate snail systematics, namely that of freshwater limpets in the family Ancylidae. Though ancylids are integral constituents of lentic and lotic ecosystems worldwide, they are small and therefore frequently overlooked or misidentified.  As a result, much of the ancylid literature features taxonomic and phylogenetic discrepancies.  To resolve this problem, I am using molecular phylogenetics, in conjunction with geometric morphometrics and gross anatomical studies, to work on a comprehensive systematic reassessment of North American ancylids.  My molecular phylogenetic approaches also offer insight into ancylid taxa acting as intercontinental cryptic invaders. 



Academic Background

M.S., 2003, University of Michigan
B.S., 2001, Ohio Northern University  
 
Publications

Walther, A., T. Lee, J. B. Burch, and D. Ó Foighil. 2006. Acroloxus lacustris is not an ancylid: A case of misidentification involving the cryptic invader Ferrissia fragilis (Mollusca: Pulmonata: Hygrophila). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 39: 271-275. 

Walther, A., T. Lee, J. B. Burch, and D. Ó Foighil. 2006. E Pluribus Unum: A phylogenetic and phylogeographic reassessment of Laevapex (Pulmonata: Ancylidae), a North American genus of freshwater limpets. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 40: 501-516. 

Walther, A., T. Lee, J. B. Burch, and D. Ó Foighil. 2006. Confirmation that the North American ancylid Ferrissia fragilis (Tryon, 1863) is a cryptic invader of European and East Asian freshwater ecosystems. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 72: 318-321.