EDUCATION

2018 PhD Auburn University, Department of Biological Sciences

Dissertation: Phylogenomics and systematics of the Aptostichus atomarius species complex (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Euctenizidae)

2009 B.S. West Liberty University

Major: Biology/Chemistry (Environmental Science) Minor: Geography

RESEARCH and TEACHING EXPERIENCE

2018 - Present Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences

Conservation genomics of threatened and endangered aquatic invertebrates. Collected DNA from freshwater mussels, generated RADseq type data, and analyzed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in service of USFWS/Southeast Conservation Genetics Lab genetic management plan development.

2017 - 2018 Graduate Research Assistant, AUMNH Museum Digitization Project

Performed informatic processing of digitized data files in preparation for migration to Specify database, parsed, standardized and verified biological records using machine learning/clustering algorithms and shell scripting.

2015 - 2016 Graduate Research Assistant, AUMNH Environmental DNA Project

Collaboration with Natural Heritage Program, performed DNA extractions on preserved filtered water samples, used qPCR to detect presence of residual DNA from target vertebrate species.

2015 - 2017 Summer Graduate Teaching Assistant, Bioinformatics Bootcamp

Developed curriculum, demonstrated bioinformatic methods, provided one-on-one instruction in computing skills to a diverse group of participants from every academic career level, responsible for event logistics and coordination with administrative staff.

2012 - 2015 NSF Predoctoral Fellow

Genetic signals of pigment variation in the Aptostichus atomarius species complex (CA): de-novo transcriptome assembly in a non-model organism using next-gen sequencing

2011 - 2012 Graduate Teaching Assistant, Anatomy and Physiology I

West Liberty University

2009 – 2010 Research Assistant I, Cardiovascular Research Lab

Performed and assisted with experiments, maintained cell lines, analyzed sequence data, managed molecular lab; teaching duties included coverage of General Biology Lab for majors (BIO125) and non-majors (BIO 106).

2008 – 2009 Collection Manager, Crayfish Conservation Lab

Collected and preserved specimens, compiled and organized associated field data, generated morphological data, maintained live collection.

PUBLICATIONS

2020 (in prep) N.L. Garrison, Whelan, N., Johnson, P. Conservation genomics of the threatened freshwater mussel species, Margaritifera hembeli (Conrad 1838). Conservation Genetics.

2020 (submitted) N.L. Garrison, Brewer, M.S., Bond, J.E. Shifting evolutionary sands: transcriptome characterization of the Aptostichus atomarius species complex. BMC Evolutionary Biology.

2018 Godwin, R.L., Opatova, V., Garrison, N.L., Hamilton, C.A., & Bond, J.E. Phylogeny of a cosmopolitan family of morphologically conserved trapdoor spiders (Mygalomorphae, Ctenizidae) using Anchored Hybrid Enrichment, with a description of the family, Halonoproctidae Pocock 1901. Molecular phylogenetics and evolution, 126, 303-313.

2016 Folt, B., Garrison, N.L., Guyer, C., Rodriguez, J., & Bond, J. E. Phylogeography and evolution of the Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 98, 97 – 100.

2016 Garrison, N.L., Rodriguez, J., Agnarsson, I., Coddington, J. A., Griswold, C. E., Hamilton, C. A., Hedin, M., Kocot, K.M., Ledford, J.M & Bond, J. E. Spider phylogenomics: untangling the Spider Tree of Life. PeerJ, 4, e1719.

2014 Bond, J. E., Garrison, N.L., Hamilton, C. A., Godwin, R. L., Hedin, M., & Agnarsson, I. Phylogenomics resolves a spider backbone phylogeny and rejects a prevailing paradigm for orb web evolution. Current Biology, 24(15), 1765-1771.

2013 Loughman, Z. J., Foltz, D. A., Garrison, N.L., & Welsh, S. A. Cambarus (P.) theepiensis, a new species of crayfish (Decapoda: Cambaridae) from the coalfields region of eastern Kentucky and southwestern West Virginia, USA. Zootaxa, 3641(1), 63-73.

2012 Bond, J. E., Hamilton, C. A., Garrison, N.L., & Ray, C. H. Phylogenetic reconsideration of Myrmekiaphila systematics with a description of the new trapdoor spider species Myrmekiaphila tigris (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Cyrtaucheniidae, Euctenizinae) from Auburn, Alabama. ZooKeys, (190), 95.

2010 Loughman Z.J., Garrison N.L., Welsh S.A., Simon T.P. Zoogeography, conservation, and ecology of crayfishes within the Cheat River basin of the upper Monongahela River drainage, West Virginia. Proceedings of the West Virginia Academy of Sciences, (82),1. PDF

SKILLS

Fieldwork

Aquatic – Collection methods (kick sampling, seining, dip net, hand collecting, trapping, snorkeling), visual stream and habitat assessment, abiotic water quality assessment. Experience collecting and identifying freshwater invertebrates. Experience collecting threatened and endangered mussel species, including in-field swabbing for genetic material.

Terrestrial – Invertebrate collection (burrow excavation, sweep net, aerial net, beating, various trapping and baiting methods), navigation with GPS and topological maps, plant and insect identification, soil sampling, DBH, estimation of canopy cover, photography.

Laboratory

Molecular/Genetic – Aseptic technique, reagent preparation, pipetting, RNA and DNA extraction techniques, gel electrophoresis, PCR, PCR purification, cDNA library prep (RNAseq), qPCR, processing of environmental DNA samples, cryo-preservation, ELISA, western blot, tissue culture, tissue dissection.

Morphological – Identification using taxonomic keys and revisions, insect pinning and preservation, desiccation, microscopy of invertebrates, dissection, preservation of vouchered tissues, rehydration, digital measurement, photography

Computing

Software – Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Creative Suite, Inkscape, FigTree, ArcGIS and QGIS, TASSEL, STRUCTURE, Stacks, Geneious, BLAST, Exonerate, Trimmomatic, Trinity, Ray, bowtie, samtools, BWA, IGV, FastQC, RAxML, IQ-TREE, ExaBayes, TransDecoder, HaMStR, BEAST, BPP, ASTRAL, FUSTr, pyRAD, BaCoCa, MARE, Alicut/Aliscore, mafft, Blast2GO, Trinotate, PopArt, SplitsTree, TOPALi, MEGAN, OpenRefine, pandas (Python Data Analysis Library)

R packages – LEA, PHRAPL, BioGEOBears, BAMMtools, PopGenome, DEseq, misc. statistical and visualization packages

Languages – Bash/Shell (esp. sed, grep, awk), Python, R

AWARDS and SCHOLARSHIPS

2016 Biological Sciences Graduate Student Association Travel Award

2015 Best Graduate Oral Presentation, SEEC, 2nd place

2014 European Society of Arachnology Student Presentation Competition, 3rd place

2012 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

2009 West Liberty University Outstanding Biology Student of the Year

2009 WV Higher Education Grant

2009 NASA Space Grant – Crayfish Ecology and Conservation

2008 NASA Space Grant Epigean Crayfishes of the Greenbrier River Basin, West Virginia: Distribution, Natural History, and Conservation Status.

2008 West Liberty State College Foundation Research Competition, 1st place

2007 NASA Space Grant Comparative ecology of Cambarus (C.) b. bartonii and Orconectes (C.) obscurus in the Cacapon River Basin, West Virginia.

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS

2019 Nicole L. Garrison, Nathan Whelan, Paul Johnson. Conservation genomic assessment of Margaritifera hembeli (Conrad, 1838). Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society. San Antonio, Texas.

2018 Nicole L. Garrison, Nathan Whelan, Paul Johnson. Conservation genomics of freshwater mussels. Tennessee Endangered Mollusk Committee Meeting. Cumberland Mountain State Park, Crossville, Tennessee.

2018 (Invited Talk) Nicole L. Garrison, Jason E. Bond, Chris A. Hamilton. Exploration of species boundaries in a trapdoor spider complex: an integrative next-generation sequencing approach. Systematics, Evolution, and Biodiversity Section. Entomological Society of America Joint Meeting. Vancouver, BC, Canada.

2016 (Invited Talk) Nicole L. Garrison. Life Underground: Challenges in Mygalomorph Spider Systematics. E.O. Grundset Lecture Series. SAU, Collegedale, Tennessee.

2016 Nicole L. Garrison, Jason E. Bond. Investigating species boundaries in a trapdoor spider species complex using anchored hybrid enrichment. International Congress of Arachnology. Golden, Colorado.

2015 Nicole L. Garrison, Jason E. Bond. Assessing species boundaries in a trapdoor spider complex: a genotyping-by-sequencing approach. SEEC. Athens, Georgia.

2014 (Invited Talk) Nicole L. Garrison, Jason Bond. Evaluating species boundaries in the Aptostichus atomarius (Araneae, Euctenizidae) sibling species complex (CA): a genotyping-by-sequencing based approach. European Society of Arachnology. Torino, Italy.

2014 (Poster) Jason E. Bond, Nicole L. Garrison, Chris A. Hamilton, Rebecca L. Godwin, Marshal Hedin, Ingi Agnarsson. Spider Phylogenomics Shifts the Paradigm for the History of Earth’s Most Diverse Predator Lineage. Evolution. Raleigh, North Carolina.

2013 Nicole L. Garrison, Jason E. Bond. Searching for genetic signals of dune adaptation in the Aptostichus atomarius species complex (CA): de-novo transcriptome assembly and characterization. SEEC. Orlando, Florida.

2013 Nicole L. Garrison, Jason E. Bond. Next generation sequencing and de novo assembly of a non-model organism Aptostichus stephencolberti. Auburn University Graduate Scholars Forum. Auburn, Alabama.

LEADERSHIP and OUTREACH

School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University

2019 Auburn Fisheries Field Day (6 contact hours) • Hands-on presentation of freshwater invertebrate biology (crayfishes, mussels, snails) • Live animal handling and interpretation, all age groups

Auburn Museum of Natural History (AUMNH), Auburn University

2019 Bones and Boos (4 contact hours) • Spider walk and interpretation, all ages

2014 – 2017 Field Days, Wehle Nature Center (24 contact hours) • Designed science programming for K-8 class groups, hands-on outdoor activity on spider and insect biology • Demonstrated field collection methods and identification of specimens

2013 – 2017 AUMNH Open House (24 contact hours) • Presented live and preserved arachnid and millipede specimens to public, all age groups • Interpreted invertebrate ecology and biology

2015 – 2016 Junior Curator Camp, Auburn Campus and abroad (16 contact hours) • Assisted with field collection of terrestrial invertebrates (primarily insects) • On-site identifications of insects and spiders • Instructed grade 5-8 students in dichotomous key and microscope use

College of Sciences and Mathematics Outreach, Auburn University

2015 – 2017 Greater East Alabama Regional Science and Engineering Fair (12 contact hours) • Judged science fair projects and provided feedback, grades 7-12

2014 – 2017 AU Explore (24 contact hours) • Volunteer presenter of arachnid specimens, middle school students

2015 Summer Science Institute (18 contact hours) • Assisted rising seniors with field collection and identification of spiders and invertebrates

2013 & 2015 Getting Under the Surface (GUTS, 4 contact hours) • Designed and presented arachnid programming, K-6 students

2013 Annual Women’s Leadership Symposium in Science and Mathematics (4 contact hours) • Panelist and breakout session presenter, high school girls from throughout state

Graduate Women in Science, Auburn University

2015 – 2017 Junior Mad Scientist (12 contact hours) • Designed interactive general biology and invertebrate diversity programming, K-6 students

Miller Writing Center/University Honors College, Auburn University

2012 – 2015 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Application Workshop (8 contact hours) • Served on panel of NSF Fellows, spoke to undergraduate students about grant writing and successful fellowship applications • Provided an interactive personal statement writing tutorial

NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), Auburn University

2016 – 2017 Instructed undergraduates in the Computational Biology summer program during Bioinformatics Bootcamp, presented on careers in biology

2012 Mentored and supervised undergraduate (later recruited into and graduated from masters program at Auburn) during REU sponsored spider phylogeography project

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATONS and SERVICE

Member, Society for Systematic Biologists Member, Graduate Women in Science Member, American Fisheries Society Member, Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society Member, Entomological Society of America Member, American Arachnological Society

Reviewer: Southeastern Naturalist, Zootaxa, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Systematic Biology