Research Interests

• Evolution of the complementary sex determiner (csd) gene and its role in the sex determination of honey bees and other hymenopteran species. (Labwebpage)
• Molecular systematics and phylogeography of neotropical taxa.
• Base composition biases and phylogenetic reconstruction.
• Evolution of GC content and isochores in vertebrates.

Education

• Ph.D. student in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota-TC, 2006-.
• Master of Science in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota-TC, 2005. Thesis presentation pdf
• Bachelor of Science in Zoology, University of Panama, 2003.

Research in Progress

• Evolution of the csd gene in the superfamily Ichneumonoidea (parasitoids wasps).
• Variations in GC3 content in the gene RAG1 across didelphine lineages.
• Molecular Systematics and Evolution of Orchid Bees.
• Phylogeography of the Central American spiny rat.

Publications

Peer reviewed papers
• Gruber, K.F., R.S. Voss and S.A. Jansa. 2006. Base Compositional.Heterogeneity in the RAG1 locus Among Didelphid Marsupials: Implications for Phylogenetics Inference and the Evolution of Isochores. Molecular Biology and Evolution. Submitted.
• Christopher W. Dick, David W. Roubik, Karl F. Gruber, and Eldredge Bermingham. 2004. Long-distance gene flow and cross-Andean dispersal of lowland rainforest bees (Apidae: Euglossini) revealed by comparative mitochondrial DNA phylogeography. Molecular Ecology. Volume 13, Number 12, pp. 3775-3785(11)
• Christopher W. Dick, David W. Roubik, Karl F. Gruber, and Eldredge Bermingham. 2004. Molecular systematics and Historical biogeography of Euglossine bees (Apidae: Euglossini): Implications for neotropical orchid diversification. In prep.
• Collin, R., M. McLellan, K. Gruber, and C. Bailey-Jourdain. Effects of conspecific associations on size at sex change in three species of calyptraeid gastropods. 2005. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 293:89-87.
• Gruber, K.F., J.L. Patton, E. Bermingham. Phylogeography of the central American Spiny Rat Proechimys semispinosus Tomes, 1860 (Rodentia: Echimyidae) based on mitochondrial DNA sequences. In prep.
• H. Fortunato, K. Gruber, E Bermingham. Rapid Speciation of the Strombina-Group and Related Gastropods within the Eastern Pacific: Molecular and Fossil Evidences. In Prep.

Theses

Gruber, K. 2002. Filogeografia de la rata espinosa Proechimys semispinosus (Rodentia: Echimyidae) utilizando secuencias de ADN mitocondrial. B.Sc. Thesis. Universidad de Panama. 2002. [Phylogeography of the spiny rat Proechimys semispinosus (Rodencia: Echimyidae) using mtDNA sequences]


Posters

Gruber, K., G. Jacomé, L. D. Addington, & R. Collin. (2003) Long-term monitoring and habitat mapping in Bocas del Toro, Panama. Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean, Port-of-Spain,Trinidad.

Undergraduate Publications

• Vallejos, B., Arjona, A., Robles, M., Gruber, K. 1997. "Studies on the floration of Palicourea sp. (Rubiaceae)". Natura, Volumen 9. Pag. 19. (In Spanish)

• González, L., Y. González, K. Gruber. N. Ríos Y O. Samaniego 1997. "Comparisons on two species of ferns in relation to proximity to a wather body". Natura, Volumen 9. Pag. 40. (In Spanish)

• K. Gruber, Robles, A., M. Tapia, D. Patiño, J. Saucedo. 1997. "Diversity and abundance of small rodents in two types of habitat of a cloudy rainforest". Natura, Volumen 9. Pag. 49. (In Spanish)

References