Thomas Giarla

Dr. Giarla joined the Biology Department at Siena in 2015. His research focuses on tropical small mammals like rodents and shrews and aims to reconstruct evolutionary relationships (phylogenetic systematics), describe new species, and investigate the evolutionary forces that generate biodiversity. His projects include field, laboratory, and computational elements.

He earned his B.A. in Biology from Washington University in St. Louis and his Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior from the University of Minnesota. As a Ph.D. student, he studied the systematics and biogeography of South American marsupials (opossums). After graduate school, he spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow at Louisiana State University’s Museum of Natural Science. There, he worked on various projects exploring the evolutionary history of tropical small mammals in Africa and Asia.

At Siena, he is continuing his work on tropical small mammals and teaches several introductory and upper level courses. He teaches General Biology I, Ecology, Biology of the Vertebrates, and Genomics and Bioinformatics. Dr. Giarla is a member of the Genomics Education Partnership, a consortium of scholars who bring real genomic datasets into the classroom for students to analyze, allowing students to make contributions to comparative genomics projects that will ultimately be published in peer reviewed journals.

Dr. Giarla's Lab Website

My Siena Experience

What I Love About Siena

I love that Siena provides me with the resources to bring students into the field for hands-on surveys and experiments in natural habitats.

My Favorite Courses to Teach

I love all of the courses I teach at Siena, but my favorite is Biology of the Vertebrates because it allows me to talk about all of the topics that got me most excited about being a biologist: the ecology, evolution, behavior, and conservation of vertebrate animals. 

My Professional Experience

Current Research

My research focuses on the evolutionary history of tropical mammals, particularly the factors associated with their diversification. I use genomic, biogeographic, and ecological data to connect population-level processes to macroevolutionary patterns. My work focuses on small mammals. So far, I've studied the evolutionary history of marsupials, rodents, and shrews from South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Articles & Book Reviews

• Expert range maps of global mammal distributions harmonised to three taxonomic authorities
  Journal of Biogeography, vol. 49
  2022
• Molecular data from the holotype of the enigmatic Bornean Black Shrew, Suncus ater Medway, 1965 (Soricidae, Crocidurinae), place it in the genus Palawanosorex
  Journal is not in list - being petitioned, vol. 1137
  2022
• Student Attitudes Contribute to the Effectiveness of a Genomics CURE
  Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, vol. 23
  2022
• A Revision of the Didelphid Marsupial Genus Marmosa Part 3. A New Species from Western Amazonia, with Redescriptions of M. perplexa Anthony, 1922, and M. germana Thomas, 1904
  American Museum Novitates, vol. 3969
  2021
• A Revision of the Didelphid Marsupial Genus Marmosa Part 4. Species of the Alstoni Group (Subgenus Micoureus)
  American Museum Novitates, vol. 2021
  2021
• Fourteen New, Endemic Species of Shrew (Genus Crocidura) from Sulawesi Reveal a Spectacular Island Radiation
  Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, vol. 454
  2021
• Integrative taxonomy and phylogeography of Colomys and Nilopegamys (Rodentia: Murinae), semi-aquatic mice of Africa, with descriptions of two new species
  Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, vol. 192
  2021
• Phylogeny based on ultra-conserved elements clarifies the evolution of rails and allies (Ralloidea) and is the basis for a revised classification
  Journal is not in list - being petitioned, vol. 138
  2021
• A Revision of the Didelphid Marsupial Genus Marmosa Part 2. Species of the Rapposa Group (Subgenus Micoureus)
  Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, vol. 439
  2020
• A revision of Philander (Marsupialia: Didelphidae), Part 2: Phylogenetic relationships and morphological diagnosis of P. nigratus Thomas, 1923
  American Museum Novitates, vol. 3955
  2020
• Case 3831–Marmosa isthmica Goldman 1912 (Mammalia, Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae): Proposal to conserve current usage by suppressing its senior synonym, Marmosa regina Thomas, 1898
  Journal is not in list - being petitioned, vol. 77
  2020
• DNA Sequence Data from the Holotype of Marmosa elegans coquimbensis Tate, 1931 (Mammalia: Didelphidae) Resolve its Disputed Relationships
  American Museum Novitates
  2020
• Facilitating Growth through Frustration: Using Genomics Research in a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience
  Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, vol. 21
  2020
• On the Identity of Victoria's Mouse Opossum, Marmosa regina Thomas, 1898
  American Museum Novitates, vol. 2020
  2020
• A new climbing shrew from Sulawesi highlights the tangled taxonomy of an endemic radiation
  Journal of Mammalogy, vol. 100
  2019
• A new genus and species of shrew (Mammalia: Soricidae) from Palawan Island, Philippines
  Journal of Mammalogy, vol. 99
  2018
• Geographic isolation and elevational gradients promote diversification in an endemic shrew on Sulawesi
  Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, vol. 118
  2018
• Isolation by marine barriers and climate explain areas of endemism in an island rodent
  Journal of Biogeography, vol. 45
  2018
• Retrotransposons are the major contributors to the expansion of the Drosophila ananassae Muller F element
  G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics, vol. 7
  2017
• Local endemism and within-island diversification of shrews illustrate the importance of speciation in building Sundaland mammal diversity
  Molecular Ecology, vol. 25
  2016
• Drosophila Muller F Elements Maintain a Distinct Set of Genomic Properties Over 40 Million Years of Evolution
  G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics, vol. 5
  2015
• Phylogeny, phylogeography and geographical variation in the Crocidura monax (Soricidae) species complex from the montane islands of Tanzania, with descriptions of three new species
  Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, vol. 174
  2015
• The Challenges of Resolving a Rapid, Recent Radiation: Empirical and Simulated Phylogenomics of Philippine Shrews
  Systematic Biology, vol. 64
  2015
• The impact of Quaternary climate oscillations on divergence times and historical population sizes in Thylamys opossums from the Andes
  Molecular Ecology, vol. 24
  2015
• Hidden diversity in the Andes: comparison of species delimitation methods in montane marsupials
  Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, vol. 70
  2014
• The role of physical geography and habitat type in shaping the biogeographical history of a recent radiation of Neotropical marsupials (Thylamys: Didelphidae)
  Journal of Biogeography, vol. 41
  2014
• Species limits and phylogenetic relationships in the didelphid marsupial genus Thylamys based on mitochondrial DNA sequences and morphology
  Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, vol. 346
  2010
• The phylogenetic position of the rodent genus Typhlomys and the geographic origin of Muroidea
  Journal of Mammalogy, vol. 90
  2009

Awards & Distinctions

• Siena College Award for Excellence
  Category: Research
  Siena College, 2022
• Committee on Teaching & Faculty Development Summer Fellowship
  Category: Research
  Siena College, 2018
• Committee on Teaching & Faculty Development Grant
  Category: Research
  Siena College, 2016
• Committee on Teaching & Faculty Development Summer Fellowship
  Category: Research
  Siena College, 2016

Books & Book Chapters

• Handbook of the Mammals of the World, Volume 7: Rodents II
  Lynx Edicions
  2017