Rachael Wade
Assistant Professor - Marine Phycology
Raised in Thornton, CO but have lived in 5 states & 2 countries, leading to completing my graduate studies in Hawai‘i.
Specialty Area
Marine macroalgal diversity; Molecular phylogenetics, systematics, and evolution; Speciation; Biogeography; Kleptoplasty
Education
PhD, 2019, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
MS, 2014, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
BS, 2008, Western Washington University
Courses Taught
Intro Botany for Non-Science Majors
Intro Botany for Botany Majors
Phycology
Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution
Fundamentals of Physiology
Research
My research focuses on the diversity of marine macroalgae and the evolutionary processes that determined and support their current distributions. Macroalgae in general are often poor dispersers, so understanding the ways in which they've diversified and have come to be globally distributed, in some cases, is of particular interest to me. My work often relies on the incorporation of historical specimens, with genetic resources derived from 19th century collections, to better understand their diversity and taxonomy.
Publications
Wade RM, Gabrielson PW, Hind KR, Shivak J, Hughey JR, Ohtsu S, Baba M, Kogame K, Lindstrom SC, Miller KA, Schipper SR. Resolving some of the earliest names for Corallina species (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) in the North Pacific by sequencing type specimens and describing the cryptic C. hakodatensis sp. nov. and C. parva sp. nov. Journal of Phycology. 2023 Feb;59(1):221-35
Krug PJ, Caplins SA, Algoso K, Thomas K, Valdés ÁA, Wade R, Wong NL, Eernisse DJ, Kocot KM. Phylogenomic resolution of the root of Panpulmonata, a hyperdiverse radiation of gastropods: new insight into the evolution of air breathing. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 2022 Apr 13;289(1972):20211855
Bringloe TT, Starko S, Wade RM, Vieira C, Kawai H, De Clerck O, Cock JM, Coelho SM, Destombe C, Valero M, Neiva J. Phylogeny and evolution of the brown algae. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences. 2020 Jul 3;39(4):281-321
Donohoo SA, Wade RM, Sherwood AR. Finding the sweet spot: sub-ambient light increases fitness and kleptoplast survival in the sea slug Plakobranchus cf. ianthobaptus Gould, 1852. The Biological Bulletin. 2020 Jun 1;238(3):154-66.
Sherwood AR, Wade RM, Conklin KY. Seasonality of tropical airborne algae: a 16-month study based on high-throughput sequencing in the Hawaiian Islands. Grana. 2020 Sep 2;59(5):354-65
Wade R, Augyte S, Harden M, Nuzhdin S, Yarish C, Alberto F. Macroalgal germplasm banking for conservation, food security, and industry. PLoS biology. 2020 Feb 14;18(2):e3000641.
