Joel Corush

  • Assistant Professor of Biology

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Education

Drake University, B.A.
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Ph.D. 

Research Interests

I use population genetics, phylogenetic comparative methods, and natural history to study trait evolution in fishes. My research focuses on how life-history traits—such as breeding behavior and migration patterns—shape population connectivity and movement across landscapes within species, as well as hybridization rates between species. I then compare these behaviors across clades to identify patterns associated with diversification, trait correlations, and the evolution of complex behaviors. I also work to incorporate this information into conservation and management efforts. 

Evolutionary biology - Ichthyology – Hybridization - Population genetics - Phylogenetic comparative methods - Landscape genetics - Conservation

Publications

  • Corush, J. B., Cucalón, R. V., Metzke, B. A., Tan, M., & Davis, M. A. (2025). Pleistocene glaciation and Anthropocene fragmentation influence genetic variation in the Illinois state–listed mottled sculpin (Cottus bairdii). Environmental Biology of Fishes, 1-18.

  • Corush, J. B. (2024). Nest-Associating Minnows Prefer Occupying Longear Sunfish Nests Over Green Sunfish Nests. Northeastern Naturalist, 31(4), 479-487.

  • Cucalón, R. V., Corush, J. B., Niemiller, M. L., Curtis, A. N., Hart, P. B., Kuhajda, B. R., ... & Tan, M. (2024). Population genomics and mitochondrial DNA reveal cryptic diversity in North American Spring Cavefishes (Amblyopsidae, Forbesichthy s). Conservation Genetics, 25(6), 1283-1301.

  • Corush, J. B., Pierson, T. W., Shiao, J. C., Katayama, Y., Zhang, J., & Fitzpatrick, B. M. (2022). Amphibious mudskipper populations are genetically connected along coastlines, but differentiated across water. Journal of Biogeography, 49(4), 767-779.

  • Corush, J. B., Fitzpatrick, B. M., Wolfe, E. L., & Keck, B. P. (2021). Breeding behaviour predicts patterns of natural hybridization in North American minnows (Cyprinidae). Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 34(3), 486-500.

  • Corush, J. B. (2019). Evolutionary patterns of diadromy in fishes: more than a transitional state between marine and freshwater. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 19(1), 168
     

    For a full list of publications, see Google Scholar.