# overview
I am an Integrative Evolutionary Ecologist, meaning that my research addresses a range of fundamental questions in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from a multi-disciplinary, integrative perspective and using a diverse array of tools including field experiments, phylogenetically-rooted comparative statistical analyses, quantitative estimates of physiological performance, experimental analyses of reproductive behavior, and molecular genetics. I often work at the nexus of typically disparate fields of study, for example combining genetic, phylogenetic, physiological and macroecological perspectives in a single analysis of distribution and dispersal (Bernardo et al. 2007). Because multiple causality is inherent in understanding ecological and evolutionary problems, my research emphasizes a strong inference approach that therefore relies on both large datasets and multivariate statistical models to evaluate competing hypotheses. Most of my active work involves vertebrates and insects and other major invertebrate groups.

General areas of interest include: o determinants of range size and position o biodiversity conservation in the face of climate change o detection, and ecological and conservation implications of cryptic speciation and diversity o vertebrate ecology and life history o biology of amphibians and reptiles, especially salamanders and lizards o speciation and evolution of reproductive isolation o evolutionary ecology of body size including its role in species packing and community assembly o clinal variation in life history and physiological traits o comparative animal physiology and physiological ecology especially as they relate to life history variation and range occupation (macrophysiology) o life history evolution o evolution and implications of maternal effects, especially propagule size o experimental ecology

# keywords[]
Gulf Coastal Plain, Desmognathus Auriculatus, D. Valentinei Sp. Nov., Swamp Habitat, Amphibia, U.s.a.

# keywords[]
1.1 Normal Biological Development And Functioning

# educationAndTraining[].organization.label
Duke University - (Durham, North Carolina, United States)

# educationAndTraining[].organization.label
University of Pennsylvania - (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States)

# educationAndTraining[].organization.label
University of Pennsylvania - (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States)

# publications[].label
Beyond trophic morphology: stable isotopes reveal ubiquitous versatility in marine turtle trophic ecology.

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Evolutionary implications of hierarchical impacts of nonlethal injury on reproduction, including maternal effects

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Determinants of clinal variation in life history of dusky salamanders (Desmognathus ocoee): prey abundance and ecological limits on foraging time restrict opportunities for larval growth

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Spatial, phylogenetic, and functional ecological perspectives on aquatic insect thermal tolerance

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IS EGG SIZE VARIATION IN THE SALAMANDER DESMOGNATHUS-OCHROPHAEUS AN ADAPTATION OR A MORPHOLOGICAL CONSTRAINT

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Morphological variation suggests that chitinozoans may be fossils of individual microorganisms rather than metazoan eggs.

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Marine turtles are only minimally sexually size dimorphic, a pattern that is distinct from most nonmarine aquatic turtles.

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New macroecological insights into functional constraints on mammalian geographical range size.

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Thermal sensitivity of metabolic rates explains range properties: towards a cause-and-effect understanding of climate change vulnerability

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Olive ridley sea turtles are constantly on the move, so protective zones should follow them

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A critical appraisal of the meaning and diagnosability of cryptic evolutionary diversity, and its implications for conservation in the face of climate change

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Interspecies physiological variation as a tool for cross-species assessments of global warming-induced endangerment: validation of an intrinsic determinant of macroecological and phylogeographic structure.

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Fossilized reproductive modes reveal a protistan affinity of Chitinozoa

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Ecological niches as underlying mechanisms of L. olivacea female alternative reproductive tactics

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Criteria for testing character displacement.

# publications[].publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

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Early life histories of dusky salamanders, Desmognathus imitator and D-wrighti, in a headwater seepage in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA

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Simplifying the jargon of community ecology: A conceptual approach

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A macrophysiological analysis of energetic constraints on geographic range size in mammals.

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EXPERIMENTAL-ANALYSIS OF ALLOCATION IN 2 DIVERGENT, NATURAL SALAMANDER POPULATIONS

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DETERMINANTS OF MATURATION IN ANIMALS (VOL 8, PG 166, 1993)

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SELECTION FOR GROWTH-RATE AND AGE AT MATURITY WHEN GROWTH OCCURS OVER SEVERAL VARIABLE ENVIRONMENTS

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New macrophysiological insights into old macroecological patterns: energetic constraints on geographic range size in mammals

# publications[].publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

# publications[].label
Failed species, innominate forms, and the vain search for species limits: cryptic diversity in dusky salamanders (Desmognathus) of eastern Tennessee

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Role of Biodiversity in Ecological Calendars and Its Implications for Food Sovereignty: Empirical Assessment of the Resilience of Indicator Species to Anthropogenic Climate Change.

# publications[].label
The particular maternal effect of propagule size, especially egg size: Patterns, models, quality of evidence and interpretations

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A new species of dusky salamander (Amphibia: Plethodontidae: Desmognathus) from the Eastern Gulf Coastal Plain of the United States and a redescription ofD. auriculatus.

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MarTurtSI, a global database of stable isotope analyses of marine turtles.

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Physiological constraints on organismal response to global warming: Mechanistic insights from clinally varying populations and implications for assessing endangerment.

# publications[].label
Failed species, innominate forms, and the vain search for species limits: cryptic diversity in dusky salamanders (Desmognathus) of eastern Tennessee

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Biologically grounded predictions of species resistance and resilience to climate change.

# publications[].publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

# publications[].label
MANIPULATING EGG SIZE TO STUDY MATERNAL EFFECTS ON OFFSPRING TRAITS

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Delineating and characterizing critical habitat for the Eastern Pacific olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea): Individual differences in migratory routes present challenges for conservation measures

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Plethodontid salamanders do not conform to "general rules" for ectotherm life histories: insights from allocation models about why simple models do not make accurate predictions

# publications[].label
Mass-rearing of plethodontid salamander eggs

# streetAddress
Texas A&M University; Biology; 3258 TAMU

# etdChairOf[].label
Romney, Sherdina Ericia (2017-05). A Species' Trait Based Approach to Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment in North Sea Fisheries Species. Master's Thesis.

# etdChairOf[].label
Figgener, Christine (2019-11). Inter- and Intraspecific Variation in Trophic and Spatial Ecology In Marine Turtles: Frequency, Potential Drivers, and Challenges for Conservation. Doctoral Dissertation.