Teaching & student mentoring

Courses

 

 

BIOL 457: Herpetology (Iowa State University)

 

Fall semesters 2008 & 2009

 

I helped co-develop and co-teach this herpetology course with Fred Janzen.  This course focuses primarily on evolutionary and ecological aspects of amphibians and reptiles. The lectures are designed to address the scientific utility of these fascinating organisms for exploring multiple disciplines of biology, including biogeography, physiology, reproductive biology, mating systems, development, life history, functional morphology, among many others.  The laboratory component of this course is designed to teach students about survey methods in the field, taxonomy, identification and natural history of amphibians and reptiles. Students also gain exposure to the scientific method and the primary literature.

Undergraduate mentoring

 

 

An important component of undergraduate education is gaining hands-on experience by conducting an independent research project. Iowa State University offers a variety of programs that provide undergraduate students with opportunities for conducting independent projects under the guidance of faculty and postdocs.

 

Below is a list of recent undergraduate (and high school) students (and their project titles) who have conducted projects under my supervision.

 

Teaching assistantships

 

 

Biology of Terrestrial Vertebrates (University of Sydney) - Summer 2004 & 2005

 

Ornithology (Virginia Tech) - Summer 1999 & spring 2000

 

Mammalogy (Virginia Tech) - Fall 2000

 

General Biology Laboratory (Virginia Tech) - Fall & spring 1999, summer 2000

1)  Jake Ward (Iowa State University; Science with Practice Program)

 

Limb length plasticity under two levels of competition in the brown anole (Anolis sagrei)

 

 

 

2)  Michelle Chapman (Prairie View A & M University; George Washington Carver Summer Internship Program)

 

Why do Anolis lizards lay one egg at a time? An experimental test of the benefits of solitary egg incubation

 

 

 

3)  Chris Jorgensen (Iowa State University; Herpetology class student)

 

Maternal and abiotic effects on egg survival of painted turtles

 

 

 

 

4)  Manuel Colomba (Guamani Private School; George Washington Carver Summer Internship Program, co-mentored with F. Janzen & T. Mitchell)

 

Effects of incubation temperature on foraging success in painted turtles

 

 

 

 

5)  Alyssa Hoffmeister (Iowa State University; Program for Women in Science and Engineering, co-mentored with F. Janzen & T. Mitchell)

 

Effects of human disturbance on hognose snakes (Heterodon nasicus) and ornate box turtles (Terrepene ornata) in a sand prairie habitat

 

 

 

 

6)  Blanka Leyderer (University of California, Berkeley; Program for Women in Science & Engineering, co-mentored with F. Janzen & T. Mitchell)

 

What can trapping tell us about population demographics of painted turtles?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outreach

 

I always take opportunities to educate and inform the public about what I’m doing and provide them with fascinating facts about my study organisms.  Most people are very interested in learning more about the reptiles that live in their ‘backyards.’ Most of the outreach that I am involved with occurs during the field season at Turtle Camp. Because our field site is a camp ground/recreation area, I spend a lot of time talking with interested people about what we do and why we do it. I am also involved with more formal presentations (aimed towards children and their families ) about the animals at Turtle Camp.

 

Over the past two field seasons, I have been involved with the Turtle Camp Research and Education in Ecology  (TREE) program. This program provides high school and undergraduate students with an opportunity to learn (through experience) how ecological research is conducted in the field. Students that participate in this program get involved in almost all aspects of research, including learning about key ecological concepts, reading and discussing papers, designing and implementing experiments, conducting field work and collecting data, and presenting their work with their peers and the public. Please see the TREE website for more information.