Donald Buth

Professor

Department: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

LS 1335
Tel: (310) 206-6084
dbuth@ucla.edu
Personal Website

Recent Courses

EE BIOL 112 - Ichthyology
EE BIOL 130 - Principles of Systematic Biology
EE BIOL 19 - Fiat Lux Freshman Seminars

Research Interests

Phylogenetic systematics Systematics and evolution of reptiles and cypriniform, gasterosteiform, and perciform fishes Research and development of enzymatic technology and phylogenetic treatment of electrophoretic data My research and that of my students deal with the systematics of lower vertebrates, especially fishes. These studies address problems of phylogenetic relationship at a variety of organizational levels; alpha (species limits and recognition), beta (interspecific relationships), and gamma (intraspecific relationships and population phenomena). To test hypotheses of relationship, multiple data bases are often employed. Given their information potential and cost of resolution, allozyme and morphometric/meristic data are most commonly used in my laboratory. Facilities for osteological and karyological work are also available. Cladistic analyses of these data are conducted using both PC and mainframe computers. My current studies involve cypriniform, gasterosteiform, and perciform fishes. Planned and ongoing studies of my students involve cypriniform, scorpaeniform, perciform, and elasmobranch fishes. Most of these studies deal with the North American ichthyofauna.