Biological Science Faculty Member
Dr. Emily C. Lemmon
- Office: 213 Biomedical Research Facility
- Office: (850) 645-9170
- Area: Ecology & Evolution
- Lab: 215 Biomedical Research Facility
- Lab: (850) 645-9161
- Fax: (850) 644-0989
- Mail code: 4340
- E-mail: chorusfrog@bio.fsu.edu

Associate Professor
Ph.D., University of Texas, Austin, 2007
Graduate Faculty Status
Research and Professional Interests:
One of the most exciting questions in biology is How do new species arise? This question has intrigued and fascinated biologists from Darwin to the present. The goal of my research program is to gain insight into the process of speciation in order to understand the origin of biodiversity. I employ an integrative approach to studying speciation, which involves several fields of biology, including behavioral ecology, phylogenetics, phylogeography, population genetics, genomics, and ecology. I use amphibians as model systems for studying this process, focusing primarily on North American and South American taxa.
Current projects include (1) studying speciation-in-action driven by reinforcement in contact zones of chorus frogs, (2) developing improved methods for phylogeography, (3) investigating the evolution of acoustic signals across frog clades, (4) employing genomic approaches to developing markers for amphibian genetics, and (5) implementing genomic tools for targeted phylogenomics in amphibians.
Selected Publications:
Sharanowski, B.J., R. Ridenbaugh, P.K. Piekarski, G.R. Broad, G.R. Burke, A.R. Deans, A.R. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, G. Stewart, J.B. Whitfield, H.M. Hines. Submitted. Phylogenomics of Ichneumonoidea (Hymenoptera) and implications for evolution of mode of parasitism and viral endogenization. BioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.06.17.157719.
Brennan, I.G., A.R. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, D.M. Portik, V. Weijola, L. Welton, S.C. Donnellan, J.S. Keogh. In press. Phylogenomics of monitor lizards and the role of competition in dictating body size disparity. Systematic Biology syaa046, https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syaa046.
Rose, J. P., C. A. Patrocinio Toledo, E. Moriarty Lemmon, A. R. Lemmon, and K. J. Sytsma. In press. Out of sight, out of mind: widespread nuclear and plastid-nuclear discordance in the flowering plant genus Polemonium (Polemoniaceae) suggests widespread historical gene flow despite limited nuclear signal. Systematic Biology syaa049, https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syaa049.
Esquerré, D., S. Donnellan, I. G. Brennan, A. R. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, H. Zaher, F. Grazziotin, J. Scott Keogh. In press. Phylogenomics, biogeography and morphometrics reveal rapid phenotypic evolution in pythons after crossing Wallace’s line. Systematic Biology syaa024 https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syaa024.
Ospina, O.E., L. Tieu, J.J. Apodaca, E. Moriarty Lemmon. In press. Hidden diversity in the Mountain chorus frog (Pseudacris brachyphona) and the diagnosis of a new species of chorus frog in the Southeastern United States. Copeia.
Ochoa, A., M. Broe, E. Moriarty Lemmon, A.R. Lemmon, D.R. Rokyta, H.L. Gibbs. 2020. Drift, selection, and adaptive variation in small populations of a threatened rattlesnake. Molecular Ecology https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.15517.
Novikova, P.Y., I. G. Brennan, W. Booker, M. Mahony, P. Doughty, A. R. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, L. Yant, Y. Van de Peer, J. S. Keogh, S. C. Donnellan. 2020. Polyploidy breaks speciation barriers in Australian burrowing frogs Neobatrachus. PLoS Genetics 16:e1008769.
Gray, D.A., D.B. Weissman, J.A. Cole, E. Moriarty Lemmon, A.R. Lemmon. 2020. Multilocus phylogeny of Gryllus field crickets (Orthoptera: Gryllidae: Gryllinae) utilizing anchored hybrid enrichment. Zootaxa 4750:328–348.
Pyron, R. A., E. Moriarty Lemmon, A. R. Lemmon, D. A. Beamer. 2020. Ancient reticulation, recent introgression, and phylogenomic incongruence among candidate species in Dusky Salamanders (Desmognathus). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 146, 106751.
Hime, P., A.R. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, D. Weisrock, et al. 2020. Phylogenomics reveals ancient gene tree discordance in the Amphibian Tree of Life. Systematic Biology online early syaa034, https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syaa034
Dowdy, N.J., S. Keating, A.R. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, W.E. Conner, C. H. Scott Chiavlo, S.J. Weller, R.B. Simmons, M. Sisson, J.M. Zaspel. 2020. A deeper meaning for shallow-scale phylogenomic studies: Nested Anchored Hybrid Enrichment offers great promise for resolving the tiger moth Tree Of Life (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Erebidae). Systematic Entomology https://doi.org/10.1111/syen.12433.
Wu, Yuan-He, et al., E. Moriarty Lemmon. 2020. A combined approach of mitochondrial DNA and anchored nuclear phylogenomics sheds light on unrecognized diversity, phylogeny, and historical biogeography of the torrent frogs, genus Amolops (Anura: Ranidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 148, 106789.
Natusch, D., A. Hamidy, S. Keogh, A. R. Lemmon, S. Donnellan, A. Riyanto, E. Moriarty Lemmon, D. Esquerré, J. A. Lyons. 2020. Species delimitation and systematics of the green pythons (Morelia viridis complex) of Melanesia and Australia. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 142, 106640.
Garcia-R, J.C., E. Moriarty Lemmon, A.R. Lemmon, N. French. 2020. Phylogenomic reconstruction sheds light on new relationships and timescale of rails (Aves: Rallidae) evolution. Diversity 12:70.
Mendoza, C. Granados, M. Jost, E. Hagsater, S. Magallon, D. van den Berg, E. Moriarty Lemmon, A. R. Lemmon, G. A. Salazar, S. Wanke. 2020. Target nuclear and off-target plastid hybrid enrichment data inform a range of evolutionary depths in the orchid genus Epidendrum. Frontiers in Plant Science 10:1761.
Chen, J.-M., E. Prendini, Y.-H. Wu, B.-L. Zhang, C. Suwannapoom, H.-M. Chen, J.-Q. Jin, E. Moriarty Lemmon, A. R. Lemmon, B. L. Stuart, C. J. Raxworthy, R. W. Murphy, Z.-Y. Yuan, J. Che. 2020. An integrative phylogenomic approach illuminates the evolutionary history of Old World tree frogs (Anura: Rhacophoridae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 145, 106724.
Simon, C., E. R. L. Gordon, M. S. Moulds, J. A. Cole, D. Haji, A. R. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, M. Kortyna, K. Nazario, E. J. Wade, R. C. Meister, G. Goemans, S. M. Chiswell, P. Pessacq, C. Veloso, J. P. McCutcheon, P. Lukasik. 2019. Off-target capture data, endosymbiont genes and morphology reveal a relict lineage sister to all other singing cicadas. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 128:865–886.
Li, Jianhua, M. Stukel, P. Bussies, K. Skinner, A. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, K. Brown, A. Bekmetjev, N. Swenson. 2019. Maple phylogeny and biogeography inferred from phylogenomic data. Journal of systematics and Evolution 57:594–606.
Martin, G. J., K. F. Stanger-Hall, M. A. Branham, L. F. L. Da Silveira, S. E. Lower, D. W. Hall, X.-Y. Li, A. R. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, S. M. Bybee. 2019. Higher-level phylogeny and reclassification of Lampyridae (Coleoptera: Elateroidea). Insect Systematics and Diversity 3:ixz024.
Garcia-Porta, J., I. Irisarri, M. Kirchner, A. Rodríguez, S. Kirchhof, J. L. Brown, A. MacLeod, A. P. Turner, F. Ahmadzadeh, G. Albaladejo, J. Crnobrnja-Isailovic, I. de la Riva, A. Fawzi, P. Galán, B. Göçmen, D. J. Harris, O. Jiménez-Robles, U. Joger, O. Jovanović Glavaš, M. Karış, G. Koziel, S. Künzel, M. Lyra, D. Miles, M. J. Nogales Hidalgo, M. Anıl OÄŸuz, P. Pafilis, L. Rancilhac, N. Rodríguez, B. Rodríguez Concepción, E. Sanchez, D. Salvi, T. Slimani, A. S’khifa, A. Turk Qashqaei, A. Žagar, A. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, M. Angel Carretero, S. Carranza, H. Philippe, B. Sinervo, J. Müller, M. Vences, K. C. Wollenberg Valero. 2019. Environmental temperatures shape thermal physiology as well as diversification and genome-wide substitution rates in lizards. Nature Communications 10:4077.
Banker, S. E., Alan R. Lemmon, A. Bigelow Hassinger, M. Dye, S. D. Holland, M. L. Kortyna, H. Ralicki, E. Moriarty Lemmon. 2019. Hierarchical Hybrid Enrichment: multi-tiered genomic data collection across evolutionary scales, with application to chorus frogs (Pseudacris). Systematic Biology online early syz074.
Phillips, A.J., A. Dornburg, K. Zapfe, F. E. Anderson, S. W. James, C. Erseus, E. Moriarty Lemmon, A. R. Lemmon, and B. W. Williams. 2019. Phylogenetic analysis of a putative missing link sparks reinterpretation of leech evolution. Genome Biology and Evolution 11:3082–3093.
Baker, A., J. Heraty, J. Mottern, J. Zhang, H. Hines, A. R. Lemmon, and E. Moriarty Lemmon. 2019. Inverse dispersal patterns in a group of ant parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae: Oraseminae) and their ant hosts. Systematic Entomology online early https://doi.org/10.1111/syen.12371.
Buys, M.H., R.C. Winkworth, P.J. de Lange, P.G. Wilson, N. Mitchell, A.R. Lemmon6, E. Moriarty Lemmon, S. Holland, J.R. Cherry, J. Klapste. 2019. The phylogenomics of diversification on an island: applying Anchored Hybrid Enrichment to New Zealand Leptospermum scoparium (Myrtaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 191:1–17.
Burbrink, F.T., S. Ruane, A. Kuhn, N. Rabibisoa, B. Randriamahatantsoa, A. P. Raselimanana, M. S. M. Andrianarimalala, J. Cadle, A.R. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, R. A. Nussbaum, L. Jones, R. Pearson, C. J. Raxworthy. 2019. The origins and diversification of the exceptionally rich gemsnakes (Colubroidea: Lamprophiidae: Pseudoxyrhophiinae) in Madagascar. Systematic Biology 68:918–936.
Crowl, A. A., P. S. Manos, J. D. McVay, A. R. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, A. L. Hipp. 2019. Uncovering the genomic signature of ancient introgression between white oak lineages (Quercus) using anchored enrichment. New Phytologist https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15842.
Burbrink, F. T., F. G. Grazziotin, R. A. Pyron, D. Cundall, S. Donnellan, F. Irish, J. S. Keogh, F. Kraus, R. W. Murphy, B. Noonan, S. Ruane, C. J. Raxworthy, A. R. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, H. Zaher. 2019. Interrogating the Genomes of Squamata (Lizards, Snakes, and Amphisbaenians) with Novel Machine-Learning Techniques Shows no Support for Deeper Traditional Morphological Relationships. Systematic Biology online early syz062.
Wolfe, J. M., J. W. Breinholt, K. A. Crandall, A. R. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, T. E. Timm, M. E. Siddall, H. D. Bracken-Grissom. 2019. A phylogenomic framework, evolutionary timeline, and genomic resources for comparative studies of decapod crustaceans. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 286:20190079.
Mason, A., F. Grazziotin, R. A. Pyron, H. Zaher, A. R. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, C. Parkinson. 2019. Reticulate evolution in Nuclear Middle America causes discordance in the phylogeny of palm-pitvipers (Viperidae: Bothriechis). Journal of Biogeography 46:833–844.
Kriebel R., B.T. Drew, C.P. Drummond; J.G. González-Gallegos; F. Celep, M. M. Mahdjoub, J.P. Rose, C.-L. Xiang, G.-X. Hu, J.B. Walker, E. Moriarty Lemmon, A.R. Lemmon, K.J. Sytsma. 2019. Tracking temporal shifts in area, biomes, and pollinators in the radiation of salvia (Sages, Lamiaceae) across continents: leveraging Anchored Hybrid Enrichment and targeted sequence data. American Journal of Botany 106:573–597.
Li, J.-H., P. Del Tredici, A.R. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, Y. Zhao, C. Fu. 2019. Allopatric speciation in Asia contributed to the diversity anomaly between eastern Asia and eastern North America: Evidence from anchored phylogenomics of Stewartia (Theaceae). International Journal of Plant Science 180:768–777.
Machado, R.J.P., J.P. Gillung, S.L. Winterton, I.J. Garzon, A.R. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, J.D. Oswald. 2019. Owlflies are derived antlions: anchored phylogenomics and a revised phylogenetic classification of the family Myrmeleontidae (Insecta: Neuroptera). Systematic Entomology 44:418–450.
Faria, R., A. M. Westram, P. Chaube1, H. Morales, T. Larsson, A. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, M. Rafajlović, M. Panova, M. Ravinet, K. Johannesson, R. Butlin. 2019. Multiple chomosomal rearrangements in a hybrid zone between Littorina saxitils ecotypes. Molecular Ecology 28:1375-1393.
Margres, M.J., A.H. Patton, K.P. Wray, A. Hassinger, M. Ward, E. Moriarty Lemmon, A. Lemmon, D.R. Rokyta. 2018. Tipping the scales: the migration-selection balance leans toward selection in snake venoms. Molecular Biology and Evolution 36:271–282.
Kuntner M., C.A. Hamilton, R.-C. Cheng, M. GregoriÄ, N. Lupše, T. Lokovšek, E. Moriarty Lemmon, A.R. Lemmon, I. Agnarsson, J.A. Coddington, J.E. Bond. 2018. Golden Orbweavers ignore biological rules: phylogenomic and comparative analyses unravel a complex evolution of sexual size dimorphism. Systematic Biology 68:555–572.
Taheri, S. S.W. James, V. Roy, T. Decaëns, B.W. Williams, F. Anderson, R. Rougerie, C.-H. Chang, G.G. Brown, L. Cunha, D.W.G. Stanton, E. Da Silva, J-H. Chen, A. R. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, M. Bartz, D. Baretta, I. Barois, E. Lapied, M. Coulis, L. Dupont. 2018. Complex taxonomy of the ‘brush tail’ peregrine earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 124:60-70.
Yuan, Z.-Y., B. -L. Zhang, C. J. Raxworthy, D. W. Weisrock, P. M. Hime, J. Jin, A. R. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, S. D. Holland, M. Kortyna, W. Zhou, M.-S. Peng, J. Che, E. Prendini. 2019. Natanuran frogs used the Indian Plate to step-stone disperse and radiate across the Indian Ocean. National Science Review 6:10-14.
Caparroz, R., A. Vaz Rocha, G. S. Cabanne, P. Tubaro, A. Aleixo, E. Moriarty Lemmon, A. Lemmon. Mitogenomes of two neotropical bird species and the multiple independent origin of mitochondrial gene orders in Passeriformes 2018. Molecular Biology Reports 45:279–285.
Taucce P.P.G., M.J. Hickerson, C. Canedo, C.F.B. Haddad, A.R. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, M. Vences, M. Lyra. 2018. The mitochondrial genomes of five frog species of the Neotropical genus Ischnocnema (Anura: Brachycephaloidea: Brachycephalidae). Mitochondrial DNA Part B: Resources 3:917-919.
Percy, D. M., A. Crampton-Platt, S. Sveinsson, A. R. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, D. Ouvrard, D. Burckhardt. 2018. Resolving the psyllid tree of life: a phylogeny of the superfamily Psylloidea (Hemiptera). Systematic Entomology 43:762–776.
Johnson, A. J., D. D. McKenna, B. H. Jordal, A. I. Cognato, S. M. Smith, A. R. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, J. Hulcr. 2018. Phylogenomics clarifies repeated evolutionary origins of inbreeding and fungus farming in bark beetles (Curculionidae, Scolytinae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 127:229–238.
Irisarri, I., C. Sturmbauer, S. Pooja, P. Franchini, F. Henning, J. T. Dowdall, S. Koblmuller, G. Thallinger, E. Moriarty Lemmon, A. Lemmon, C. Fischer, A. Meyer. 2018. Anchored phylogenomics uncovers deep inter-tribal hybridizations in the Lake Tanganyika cichlid radiation and highlights adaptive loci shaping species’ ecology. Nature Communications 9:3159.
Bogarín, D., O. Alejandro Pérez-Escobar, D. Groenenberg, S. D. Holland, A. P. Karremans, E. Moriarty Lemmon, A. R Lemmon, F. Pupulin, E. Smets, B. Gravendeel. 2018. Anchored Hybrid Enrichment generated nuclear, plastid and mitochondrial markers resolve the Lepanthes horrida (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae) species complex. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 129:27 –47.
Pepper, M., J. Sumner, I. G. Brennan, K. Hodges, A. R. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, G. Peterson, D. L. Rabosky, L. Schwarzkopf, I. A. W. Scott, G. Shea, and J. S. Keogh. 2018. Speciation in the mountains and dispersal by rivers: Molecular phylogeny of the Australian Eulamprus water skinks and the biogeography of Eastern Australia. Journal of Biogeography 45:2040–2052.
Piekarski, P., J. M. Carpenter, A. R. Lemmon, E. Moriarty Lemmon, B. J. Sharanowski. 2018. Phylogenomic evidence overturns current conceptions of social evolution in wasps (Vespidae). Molecular Biology and Evolution 35:2097-2109.