updated Oct-5-2026
Andrew G. Cannizzaro
Postdoctoral Associate
Miami University, Oxford, Ohio
📱 (412) 613-7177 | 📧 Cannizag@miamioh.edu | 🌐 www.agcannizzaro.com
Employment
Postdoctoral Associate Spring 2026 - Fall 2026
Miami University, Oxford, Ohio
Primary Investigator: David J. Berg
Project: Examination of freshwater amphipod diversity/biogeography in Ohio and the Great Basin. Synthesis of broad biogeographic/conservation trends among the Nearctic amphipod fauna.
Postdoctoral Researcher Spring 2026 - Fall 2026
Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University, Tallahassee, Florida
Primary Investigator: David J. Berg
Project: Determining the Distribution and Conservation Status of Pennsylvania’s Rare Amphipod Species. a.
Education
PhD, ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION & ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY Fall 2025
Miami University, Oxford, Ohio
Dissertation: Phylogenetic and biogeographic patterns in Nearctic freshwater amphipods: historical factors permitting diversification in varied systems
Advisor: David J. Berg
MS, BIOLOGY Fall 2018
Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University, Tallahassee, Florida
Thesis: Phylogenetic and morphological analyses of the crangonyctid Amphipoda of Florida
Advisor: Thomas R. Sawicki
BA, ZOOLOGY, Fall 2016
Miami University, Oxford, Ohio
Project: Taxonomy of Gammarus spp. in the Chihuahuan Desert
Advisor: David J. Berg
Publications
(* = undergraduate author)
Sawicki, T. R., Cannizzaro, A. G., & Sisco, J. M. (in press). Assessing the small nuclear ribosomal subunit (18S rRNA) as a barcoding gene for the Amphipoda (Crustacea: Malacostraca) along with the design of a unique primer set to target the amphipod 18S rRNA gene. Biology.
Cannizzaro, A. G., Lange, C. J., & Berg, D. J. (2026). Resurrection and redescription of Hyalella fluvialis (Harford, 1877) (Amphipoda: Hyalellidae), with notes on its distribution and conservation. Zootaxa. 5862: 127-144. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5862.1.5
Cannizzaro, A. G., Sawicki, T. R., Schaefer, J., Castrillo, D., Maxwell, E. C., Culver, D. C., & Niemiller, N. L. (in press). Two new species of Stygobromus Cope, 1872 (Amphipoda: Crangonyctidae) amphipods from hypotelminorheic seepage springs in the Washington, D.C., USA area. Subterranean Biology. 53: e70227. https://doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.57.188080
Cannizzaro, A. G., Sawicki, T. R., Lieb, D. A., & Berg, D. J. (2026). Secrets of the spring-keepers: phylogeographic analyses of a freshwater amphipod uncover dispersal pathways in eastern North America. Journal of Biogeography. 53: e70227. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.70227
Coppock, N. H., Cannizzaro, A. G., Grant, K. D., & Sawicki T. R. (2026). The Florida Peninsula as an Engine of Estuarine Evolution: Insights from Gammarus daiberi (Crustacea: Amphipoda). Journal of Biogeography. 53: e70130. https://doi.org/10.1155/jzs/9912359
Cannizzaro, A. G., Lange, C. J., & Berg, D. J. (2025). Gateways to the underworld: molecular phylogenetic analyses identify patterns of groundwater fauna and two new species of hypogean Hyalella Smith, 1874 (Amphipoda: Hyalellidae) from the northern Mojave Desert. Subterranean Biology. 54: 35–68. https://doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.54.168846
Cannizzaro, A. G., & Berg, D. J. (2025). Shallow waters, deep divergence: epigean amphipods utilize shallow subterranean habitats in the Western Allegheny Plateau. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research. 2025: 9912359. https://doi.org/10.1155/jzs/9912359.
Cannizaro, A. G., & Berg, D. J. (2025). Brooding phylogenomics: A target-capture probe set for the analysis of ultraconserved elements in the Peracarids. Molecular Ecology Resources. 26: e70078 https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.70078.
Cannizzaro, A. G., Lange, C. J., & Berg, D. J. (2025). Clarification of the Hyalella azteca (Saussure, 1858) complex, with a redescription of Hyalella dentata Smith, 1874 and an updated key to North American species of the genus (Amphipoda: Hyalellidae). Journal of Crustacean Biology. 45: ruaf054. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcbiol/ruaf054
Cannizzaro, A. G., & Berg, D. J. (2025). Redescriptions have consequences: biogeographic and conservation insights from the redescription of a widespread freshwater amphipod (Amphipoda, Gammaridae). Zoosystematics and Evolution. 101: 1887–1909. https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.101.161784
Ascanio, A., Louis, B.*, Cannizzaro, A. G., Fitzgerald, V., Bracken, J., Rodenhouse, N., Crist, T., & Jezkova, T. (2025) Habitat disturbance and multigenerational emergence trends in Brood X cicadas (Magicicada spp.) in Southwest Ohio. Ecosphere. 16: e70377. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70377
Sawicki, T. R., Cannizzaro, A. G., & Dowd, S.E. (2025). Florida man exonerated: an amphipod case study on the implications of cryptic species complex and global invasions. Biological Invasions 27: 189 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-025-03644-y
Tomoyasu, K.*, Cannizzaro, A. G., & Berg, D. J. (2025). Unexpected pathway for intercontinental movement into the Nearctic revealed by phylogenetic analyses. Zoological Scripta. https://doi.org/10.1111/zsc.12717
Cannizzaro, A. G., Lange, C. J., & Berg, D. J. (2025). A new species of Hyalella (Amphipoda: Hyalellidae) from a unique thermal-spring habitat, Journal of Crustacean Biology. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcbiol/ruaf004
Cannizzaro, A. G., & Berg, D. J. (2025). Oligocene odyssey: molecular phylogenetic analyses describe the origin and diversification of freshwater Gammarus in eastern North America. Journal of Biogeography. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.15081
Samsa, Z.*, Yox, C.*, Cannizzaro, A. G., & Berg, D. J. (2024). Slater swap: taxonomic analyses modify distributions of two species of Lirceus Rafinesque, 1820 (Isopoda: Asellidae) and identify a new species from central Ohio, USA. Journal of Crustacean Biology. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae108
Cannizzaro, A. G., & Berg, D. J. (2024) Molecular phylogenetic analyses reveal a radiation of freshwater Gammarus (Amphipoda: Gammaridae) in the northern Chihuahuan Desert. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 202: zlae108.
Smith, L., Long, R. A., Cannizzaro, A. G., & Sawicki. T. R. (2024). Vicariance and cryptic diversity revealed by molecular phylogenetic analyses of estuarine Gammarus species (Crustacea: Amphipoda) due to formation of the Labrador Current. Invertebrate Systematics 38: IS24003.
Niemiller, M. L., Cannizzaro, A. G., Sawicki, T. R., & Culver, D. C. (2024). A new species of Stygobromus Cope, 1872 (Amphipoda: Crangonyctidae) from a hypotelminorheic seepage spring in Washington D.C., USA. Subterranean Biology 48: 117–146.
Cannizzaro, A. G., Lange, C. J., & Berg, D. J. (2023) A new species of stygobitic Hyalella Smith, 1874 (Amphipoda: Hyalellidae) from Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada, USA, with discussion of the unique presence of the species in the Nearctic groundwater fauna. Journal of Crustacean Biology 43: ruad073.
Cannizzaro, A. G., Sisco, J. M., & Sawicki, T. R. (2022) Reappraisal of the Crangonyx floridanus species complex, with the description of a new species of Crangonyx Bate, 1859 (Amphipoda: Crangonyctidae) from northern Florida, USA. Journal of Crustacean Biology 42: ruac027.
Cannizzaro, A. G., & Berg, D. J. (2022) Gone with Gondwana: amphipod diversification in freshwaters followed the breakup of the supercontinent. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 171: 107464.
Hou, Z., Jin, P-Y., Hongguang., Qiao, H., Sket, B., Cannizzaro, A. G., Berg, D. J., & Li, S. (2022) Past climate cooling promoted global dispersal of amphipods from Tian Shan montane lakes to circumboreal lakes. Global Change Biology 28: 3830–3845.
Cannizzaro, A. G., Daniels, J., & Berg, D. J. (2022) Phylogenetic analyses of a new freshwater amphipod reveal polyphyly within the Holarctic family Crangonyctidae, with revision of the genus Synurella and discussion of phylogeography. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 195: 1100–1115.
Walters, A. D., Cannizzaro, A. G.*, Trujillo, D. A. & Berg, D. J. (2021) Addressing the Linnean shortfall in cryptic species: a case study of the Gammarus lacustris complex in the northern Chihuahuan Desert. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 192: 277–305.
Cannizzaro, A. G., Gibson, J. R., & Sawicki, T. R. (2020) A new enigmatic genus of subterranean amphipod (Amphipoda: Bogidielloidea) from Terrell County, Texas, with the establishment of Parabogidiellidae fam. nov. and notes on the family Bogidiellidae. Invertebrate Systematics 34: 504—518.
Cannizzaro, A. G., Balding, D., Lazo-Wasem, E. A. & Sawicki, T. R. (2020) A new species rises from beneath Florida: molecular phylogenetic analyses reveal cryptic diversity among the metapopulation of Crangonyx hobbsi Shoemaker, 1941 (Amphipoda: Crangonyctidae). Organisms Diversity and Evolution 20: 387–404.
Cannizzaro, A. G., & Sawicki, T. R. (2019) Two new species of the genus Crangonyx Bate, 1859 (Amphipoda: Crangonyctidae) from the St. Marks River Basin with notes on the “Crangonyx floridanus complex”. Zootaxa. 4691: 301–332.
Cannizzaro, A. G., Balding, D., Lazo-Wasem, E. A. & Sawicki, T. R. (2019) A redescription of Hobb’s cave amphipod Crangonyx hobbsi Shoemaker, 1941 (Amphipoda: Senticaudata: Crangonyctidae) including genetic sequence data for mitochondrial and nuclear genes and notes on its ecology. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 132: 73–95.
Cannizzaro, A. G., Balding, D., Stine, M. & Sawicki, T. R. (2019) A new syntopic species of Stygobromus Cope, 1872 (Amphipoda: Crangonyctidae) from the Dougherty Karst Plain; with notes on Stygobromus floridanus Holsinger & Sawicki, 2016. Journal of Crustacean Biology 39: 407–418.
Cannizzaro, A. G., Balding, D., Lazo-Wasem, E. A. & Sawicki, T. R. (2019) Morphological and molecular analyses reveal a new species of stygobitic amphipod in the genus Crangonyx (Crustacea: Crangonyctidae) from Jackson County, Florida, with a redescription of Crangonyx floridanus and notes on its taxonomy and biogeography. Journal of Natural History 53: 425–473.
Cannizzaro, A. G., Balding, D., Lazo-Wasem, E. A. & Sawicki, T. R. (2018) A Redescription of the Stygobitic Amphipod Crangonyx grandimanus (Amphipoda: Crangonyctidae) Including Phylogenetically Significant Sequence Data for Mitochondrial and Nuclear Genes. Bulletin of the Yale Peabody Museum 59: 109–125.
Cannizzaro, A. G., Walters, A. D., & Berg, D. J. (2017) A new species of freshwater Gammarus Fabiricus, 1775 (Amphipoda: Gammaridae) from a desert spring in Texas, with a key to the species of the genus Gammarus from North America. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 37: 709–722.
Grants and Awards (total = $270,962)
2025, A survey of the fauna of seepage springs in National Capital Parks – East, National Parks Service ($20,000)
2025, Determining the distribution and conservation status of Pennsylvania’s rare amphipod species, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources ($46,550)
2024, Dissertation Fellowship, Miami University ($26,349; one semester stipend plus tuition waiver)
2022, Species boundaries of Hyalella amphipods in the Great Basin and surrounding regions, US Bureau of Land Management ($169,636)
2022, Small grants program, Ohio Biological Survey ($500)
2022, Fellowship in Graduate Studies, The Crustacean Society ($1,000)
2022, Charley Harper Scholarship (for artists in science), Miami University ($1,300)
2019, Kenneth Jay Boss Fellowship in Invertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History ($3,027)
2016, Undergraduate Summer Scholarship (research scholarship), Miami University ($2,600)
Conference Presentations
(* = undergraduate author)
Oral Presentations:
Cannizaro, A. G., & Sawicki, T. R. July 2026. America’s Backyard Radiation: Hypotelminorheic seepage springs in Washington, D. C., are revealed to contain unprecedented Diversity. Ecological Society of America, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Cannizzaro, A. G. & Berg, D. J. November 2025. Light shining into the darkness: phylogenetic analyses of a hypogean crustacean (Amphipoda: Parabogidiella) reveals unique diversity and structuring. Invited presentation. Texas Groundwater Invertebrate Forum, San Antonio, Texas.
Cannizzaro, A. G. & Berg, D. J. November 2024. Species boundaries and biogeography of Hyalella spp. (Amphipoda: Hyalellidae) using ultraconserved elements and traditional genetic markers. Invited presentation, Texas Groundwater Invertebrate Forum, San Marcos, Texas.
Cannizzaro, A. G., Niemiller, M. L., Sawicki, T. R., & Culver, D. C. June 2024. “Wetspots” of biodiversity: Hypotelminorheic seepage springs in Washington, D.C. are revealed to contain unprecedented diversity. Invited presentation, Society for Freshwater Science, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Finn D. S., Dorff, N. C., Fleshman, D. M., Winslow, J. W., Pardoe, C. L., Childers, M., & Cannizzaro, A. G. October 2023. Insights on hyporheiczone invertebrates from six years of work in Ozark Stream. Texas Groundwater Invertebrate Forum (virtual).
Cannizzaro, A. G. & Berg, D. J. October 2023. Distributional patterns and species boundaries revealed through phylogeographic analyses of the amphipod genus Hyalella. Invited presentation, Texas Groundwater Invertebrate Forum (virtual).
Cannizzaro, A. G. & Berg, D. J. January 2023. Shedding light into the darkness: phylogenetic analyses of a hypogean crustacean reveals unique diversity. Central Ohio Phylogeography Extravaganza (COPE), Columbus, Ohio.
Cannizzaro, A. G. & Berg, D. J. October 2022. Shedding light into the darkness: phylogenetic analyses of a hypogean crustacean reveals unique diversity. Invited presentation, Texas Groundwater Invertebrate Forum (virtual).
Cannizzaro, A. G. & Berg, D. J. May 2022. Shedding light into the darkness: phylogenetic analyses of a hypogean crustacean reveals unique diversity. Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Tomoyasu, K.*, Cannizzaro, A. G., Sawicki, T. R., & Berg, D. J. May 2022. Using molecular phylogenetics to uncover diversity within the freshwater isopod family Asellidae. Texas Groundwater Invertebrate Forum (virtual).
Cannizzaro, A. G. & Berg, D. J. October 2021. Phylogenetic analyses reveal remarkable diversity within the groundwater amphipod species Parabogidiella americana (Amphipoda: Parabogidiellidae). Texas Groundwater Invertebrate Forum (virtual).
Cannizzaro, A. G. & Sawicki, T. R. March 2019. Molecular genetic data reveals cryptic diversity among common stygobitic species within the Floridan Aquifer. Florida Academy of Sciences, Melbourne, Florida.
Cannizzaro, A. G. & Sawicki, T. R. March 2018. Phylogenetic and morphological analyses of the crangonyctid amphipods of Florida. Florida Academy of Sciences, Miami, Florida.
Poster presentations:
McKillop, S.*, Cannizzaro, A. G., & Berg, D. J. November 2024. What lies beneath? Hyporheic invertebrate community structure in southwestern Ohio streams. Texas Groundwater Invertebrate Forum, San Marcos, Texas.
Tomoyasu, K.*, Cannizzaro, A. G., Sawicki, T. R., & Berg, D. J. May 2022. Using molecular phylogenetics to uncover diversity within the freshwater isopod family Asellidae. Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Childs, K. E.*, Cannizzaro, A. G., Burns, M. P. A., & Berg, D. J. May 2022. Cryptic species and endemicity in the amphipod genus Hyalella from isolated springs in the Chihuahuan Desert. Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting (virtual).
Plaugher, M.*, Cannizzaro, A. G., & Berg, D. J. April 2022. Using molecular biology to conduct biogeographic analysis of the Gammarus lacustris species complex in North America. Miami University Undergraduate Research Forum, Oxford, Ohio.
Samsa, Z. J.*, Childs, K. E.*, Cannizzaro, A. G., Jones, M. P., Hein S. R., & Berg, D. J. April 2020. Geometric morphometric analyses reveal morphological variation among a complex of sphaeriid bivalves in New Mexico, USA. Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society (virtual).
Cannizzaro, A. G.*, Walters, A. D., Berg, D. J. March 2016. A New Species of Freshwater Gammarus from Terrell County Texas. Midwest Ecology and Evolution Conference, Oxford, Ohio.
Professional Memberships
Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society
Ecological Society of America
Society for Freshwater Science
The Crustacean Society
The Systematics Association
Ohio Lepidopterists
Professional Service
2022-2023, President, BIOGSA (biology department graduate student association, Miami University.
2023-2024, Graduate student member, Search Committee for Plant Systematist / Biologist, Miami University Department of Biology
Reviewer: Arthropoda Selecta, Invertebrate Systematics, Journal of Subterranean Biology, Western North American Naturalist, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution, Southeastern Naturalist, Journal of Biogeography, Hydrobiologia, Organisms Diversity & Evolution, Scientific Reports
Teaching and Mentoring Experience
Instructor of Record
Environmental Biology (BIO 121), Miami University, Spring semester 2025
Non-majors undergraduate course covering local, regional, and global environmental issues examined in the context of current ecological theory and principles of resource use and management.
Laboratory Instructor
Invertebrate Zoology (BIO 312), Miami University, Spring semester 2021, 2022, 2023
Upper-level undergraduate course covering invertebrate morphology, diversity, evolutionary history, and taxonomy with an emphasis on local fauna.
Biological Concepts (BIO 115), Miami University, Fall semester 2019
Introductory undergraduate course integrating study of microbes, plants, and animals, while emphasizing biological diversity and the interdependence of life and environment, with an additional focus on writing.
Laboratory Assistant
General Biology II (BSC 1011), Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Fall semester 2018
Second year undergraduate course examining protist, fungal, plant, and animal biology with a focus on biodiversity and evolutionary history.
Invertebrate Zoology (BIO 312), Miami University, Fall 2016
Upper-level undergraduate course covering invertebrate morphology, diversity, evolutionary history, and taxonomy with an emphasis on local fauna.
Mentoring
Graduate Assistant, Berg Lab, Department of Biology, Miami University, Fall 2019–present
Mentored 10 undergraduate students (Savana Beckham, Kayla Childs, Zach Samsa, Malorie Plaugher, Kye Tomoyasu, Emma Girolami, Ava Thyen, Amanda Schauer, Audrey Swisher, and Sarah McKillop), teaching them laboratory techniques, design and execution of research, and presentation and publication of results for projects examining freshwater crustacean diversity through a molecular phylogenetic lens
Served as graduate student mentor for REU student Charsie Yox (Daemen University) in summer 2022, teaching her laboratory techniques and guiding her REU project “Can Lirceus fontinalis stand the cold? Phylogenetic analyses suggest how the Wisconsin glaciation shaped genetic diversity” which was published in the Journal of Crustacean Biology in 2024.
Served as graduate student mentor for REU student Malaika Parpart (Beloit College) in summer 2026, teaching her laboratory techniques and guiding her REU project “Flipping the script: Phylogenetic analysis of Sicifera bifurca reveals a new hypothesis for the colonization of North America” to be published in the Journal of Biogeography.
Graduate Student, Sawicki Lab, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Spring 2017–Summer 2019
Assisted with teaching rotating undergraduates various laboratory techniques.