Research in Austin lab is categorized by two broad themes. One is the study of population and species-level processes. This theme includes approaches ranging from phylogenetics, to molecular and demographic ecological approaches to study the process and pattern shaping diversity. Another important theme is the incorporation of sound ecological and evolutionary biology into fulfilling the needs of wildlife managers, agencies, and conservation organizations. These two avenues (theory and practice) are often difficult to reconcile as threatened species, due to their rarity, are often not good species for ecological or evolutionary study. As such, our research encompasses a wide variety of species.