(please be patient, in the process of updating)

The overall approach of my research has been to integrate field and molecular biology to study the ecological genetics and physiological ecology of amphibians and reptiles. I have been investigating the population genetic structure of amphibians and reptiles to assess the roles that genetic drift and natural selection have in the evolution of populations.

One aspect of my research is aimed at using the population genetic structure of a collared lizard population to describe patterns of dispersal in the central part of the species' range. With colleagues from the University of Central Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University, I am investigating the levels of genetic divergence obtained from uni-parental and bi-parental genetic markers to evaluate age- and gender-biased patterns of dispersal among the five study sites in this population. I am also evaluating the efficacy of these markers in parentage analyses that we intend to use to investigate factors that influence reproductive success collared lizards.

In other areas of my research, I have collaborated with numerous faculty in investigations of invertebrates by providing some level of technical expertise in genetics or the detection and measurement of stress proteins. My collaboration with graduate students and faculty at Bloomsburg University involves studies of the population genetic structure of pelagic gooseneck barnacles. In another ongoing collaboration with a faculty member from the University of Central Oklahoma, we are studying the thermotolerance of invasive solitary bees in the western United States. Undergraduate students have worked closely with me to conduct skeletochronological studies of the age-structure of island and mainland toad populations, studies of isozyme expression in tissues of collared lizards, pcr-based genotyping in lizards, and measurement of stress proteins in bees and frog tadpoles. Graduate students have worked with me to develop skills that allowed them to independently investigate the behavior, ecology, and genetics of cricket frogs, solitary wasps, and collared lizards.

My research at Bloomsburg University will continue to integrate field and molecular biology so that natural history, evolution, and ecology provide the broader context for my research into amphibians and reptiles, and field and molecular biology are the tools for testing hypotheses and obtaining answers to interesting questions about amphibians and reptiles.