All faculty (tenured, tenure-track, visiting and adjunct) are invited to complete a biography. Because we wanted to create a form that has opportunities for everyone to convey a sense of what's special and important to you, and important, in your view, for prospective students and prospective colleagues to know about you, we have several optional questions. Please complete as many optional fields as you wish.
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My research interests center on basic questions in ecology and conservation biology, particularly of mammals, though I have worked on other vertebrates and also plants. I am particularly interested in the ecology of North American porcupines, which I study right here on campus with a team of students. I am also particularly interested in the biology of small populations and using genetic approaches to answer ecological and conservation questions.
My research focuses on the interactions between the basal ganglia and prefrontal cortex during the learning and retention of behavioral tasks. I’m also interested in studying animal models of human disease conditions. Joe Erlichman in the biology department and I are currently collaborating on a project that examines the neurobiology of panic disorder.
I am interested in community ecology, population ecology, and the effects of environmental factors on aquatic invertebrates and fish. Much of my early work focused on coral reef ecology in the Florida Keys and the natural diet of oyster larvae and their position in the food web of Chesapeake Bay. Since then, I have examined the biology and ecological impacts of invasive species such as zebra mussels and round gobies, both of which have devastated the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.
