My research investigates the physiological, evolutionary, and behavioral ecology of lizards. Some current research topics include stochastic population dynamics of Xantusia lizards, microclimates of Xantusia habitats, optimal foraging in arboreal lizards, physiological ecology of lizard eggs, and the evolution of thermal performance curves. Past projects have investigated tuatara conservation, tarantula locomotion, lizard running performance, and lizard thermal biology. I do a mix of field work, lab work, and mathematical modeling.

I studied biology and math at Stanford University, then moved to the University of Washington to work on my Ph.D. in Zoology. I did several short-term teaching gigs at the University of Texas and Middlebury College, then did postdoctoral research with Warren Porter at the University of Wisconsin (Zoology Department). I have been teaching biology at Harvey Mudd College since 1993. Harvey Mudd is a small undergraduate STEM-focused liberal arts college.

My research addresses knowledge gaps that limit our understanding of cultured clams and natural or restored oyster reefs in Florida’s coastal and estuarine ecosystems. I examines the effects of water quality on shellfish productivity, the physiological mechanisms that underlie those effects, the provision of ecosystem services by shellfish, and the development of models to predict impacts of water quality parameters on shellfish productivity and provision of ecosystem services. I provide leadership and support to the shellfish industry, agriculture industry, and citizens of Florida in the areas of aquaculture and molluscan invasions and engage with county and statewide faculty to identify emerging industry needs, collaboratively conduct appropriate research, and deliver sustainable solutions to stakeholders.

I recieved an MS from the University of Oregon where I was advised by Drs. Bob and Nora Terwilliger. I earned a PhD from the College of William and Mary, Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences where I worked with Dr. roger Mann. I was a postdoc at Macalester College, in St. Paul Minnesota, as well as at SUNY Stony Brook. I have been at the University of Florida for over 20 years.

I have broad interests in the organismal biology of aquatic invertebrates. Our work has focused especially on the evolution and development of regeneration and asexual reproduction and on the biology of freshwater annelids. Our work spans levels of inquiry, from molecular and cell biology, to physiology, to ecology and evolution.

I received my PhD in Ecology and Evolution from Stony Brook University and was a postdoc in Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California at Berkeley. I am currently and Associate Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park.

My current research focuses on understanding the role of methyl farnesoate (MF) in brachyuran ecdysteroidogenesis and molting regulation which allows for growth, development, and/or regeneration. Molting is stimulated by the increase of 20-hydroxyecdysone (20-E) titers, the active form of ecdysteroid molting hormone, synthesized by the Y-organs (YO). Nonetheless, MF has been shown to regulate reproduction, (metamorphic) development, and molting. While the focus in MF studies focuses on its vitellogenesis, the mechanism behind the dual (stimulatory and inhibitory) effects on 20-E production in molting remains unresolved. Integrating what is known about the insect juvenile hormone III (JH III), the epoxidated form of MF, involved in the metamorphic molt and what is known about the nature of MF in crustacean biology, it is hypothesized that through the Methoprene tolerant – Krüppel homolog 1 – E93 (MEKRE93) transcriptional cascade regulates the YO phenotype throughout the last stages of the molt cycle and thereby affect 20-E production. The components of the MEKRE93 signaling, synthetic, and metabolic pathways were identified and characterized using bioinformatic (RNA-seq), transcriptomic, and phylogenetic approaches. Furthermore, expression of these transcripts were measured from YOs taken from blackback land crab (Gecarcinus lateralis) and the green shore crab (Carcinus maenas) and were further analyzed with in vitro cultures.

I am a 6th year Biological Sciences Ph.D. candidate at Colorado State University with an anticipated graduation of May 2024. I am currently investigating the regulation of molting physiology in crabs from an endocrine-transcriptional perspective through which I get to incorporate molecular techniques with bioinformatic, transcriptomic (RNA-seq), and phylogentic tools . At CSU, I also developed invertebrate zoology lab curriculum, received my graduate teaching certificate, and assist running a new lab for students interested in research (regardless of the major). In 2017 I graduated with my Bachelor of Science in Biology (with a double minor in Chemistry and Spanish) from Aurora University, a small liberal arts school with no research opportunities. Nonetheless, my professors encouraged my research journey by putting me on some collaborative semester long projects investigating captive snake behavior and developing a biomimetic matrix for an ongoing breast cancer study. After that point I participated in a NSF-REU experience with North Dakota State University and the USDA where I looked into starvation effects on solitary bee development.

I started my career studying CORT affects on behavior in captive birds in isolation; over time, I've incorporated environmental, ecological, evolutionary and conservation perspectives into my work (in that order, actually...). I find the fields of physiological ecology and environmental endocrinology so potent because they 1) evaluate patterns of hormones, performance, reproduction and survival in the field, 2) then test those patterns in more controlled, captive situations, and finally, 3) test those controlled relationships experimentally back in field settings to broaden the ecological significance of the findings. I enjoy integrating across cellular/protein work to behavior and fitness studies. Recently, I have been applying my work in stress physiology to conservation applications; conservation physiology provides insight into the health of free-living populations, and can be used to assess individual/population success across the annual cycle.

I completed my PhD with Dr. John Wingfield in 1998, and did my post-doc with Dr. Miles Orchinik from 98-2001. I was an assistant professor at UT-Austin for 5 years, and have been at The University of Montana ever since. I am now a full professor and an ex-administrator.

Since 2012, my undergraduate laboratory at Mount Holyoke College (MHC) has been studying geographic trends in the physiological traits and thermoregulatory behaviors of Minuca pugnax, an intertidal fiddler crab species. We are currently determining the parameter values for a Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) model adapted for bimodal breathers. We plan to determine how the physiology and behavior of individual M. pugnax will influence this high impact species’ future geographic range. Ultimately, we will use the model to explore questions about limits, tradeoffs and the fundamental species niche. These questions include:
• What limits reproductive output along the range?
• What are the impacts of warmer days and earlier emergence times on the energy budgets of crabs?
• Does bimodal respiration dominated by air breathing broaden the window of thermal tolerance?
• How will continued warming impact the fundamental niche of M. pugnax?
While pursuing the model parameters, we have arrived at new insights into the thermoregulatory behaviors of this species. For example, after collecting the body temperatures of hundreds of individual free ranging crabs and concurrently measuring environmental temperatures, we were able to show that crabs began to behaviorally thermoregulate at specific surface temperatures (24°C at the southern range edge) by using their burrows to access much cooler environments underground. While this behavior allows them to escape potentially lethal conditions on the surface, it also results in lost feeding and courtship time. Collaborations with modelers will allow us to better grasp the long-term costs of this behavioral strategy.

I am a professor at Mount Holyoke College, a small liberal arts college for women in the northeastern United States, where I use both field and laboratory based investigations to explore behavioral thermoregulation in intertidal crustaceans. I have been working with undergraduate research students for nearly 20 years, and have received CAREER and NSF RUI awards. Most of the students mentored in my lab have pursued STEM-related careers and post graduate education. As a BIPOC scientist, I nearly always have a BIPOC majority research group, where students of color have the unusual experience of doing STEM work in a setting in which they are not minoritized. I participate regularly in the many professional development workshops offered on my campus, especially those centered on creating inclusive learning environments for students. Currently, I am a faculty leader in the HHMI Inclusive Excellence initiative on our campus, where we are engaged in leading a shift from deficit to achievement-oriented frameworks in faculty labs and classrooms.

I am interested in comparative sciurid (squirrel) thermophysiology and energetics.

Research Assistant / PhD student at the University of Maine and attached student researcher at the Institute for Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation at the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.

Most of my research investigates how fluid flow in the environment – whether in air or in water – impacts organisms, but I am also interested in the effects of other stressors, such as thermal stress, predation risk, and disturbance, on organisms. My PhD work investigated (1) the mechanical and physiological adaptations that allow kelp to survive in wave-swept habitats and (2) the ecological and mechanical interactions between kelp and the destructive herbivores living and feeding on the kelp. Now as a postdoc, I am investigating (1) the flight and behavioral strategies that bees use to traverse moving, wind-blown vegetation and (2) the effects of wing design on the physiology and flight performance of bees in wind.

I received a BS from the University of South Carolina where I worked with Drs. David Wethey, Brian Helmuth, and Fernando Lima. I then received a PhD from the University of California - Berkeley where I was advised by Dr. Mimi Koehl. I am now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California - Davis where I am advised by Dr. Stacey Combes.