New Faculty Member, Dr. Jesse Meik

Dr. Jesse Meik recently joined the department.  Dr. Meik specializes in herpetology and evolutionary biology and will be teaching Comparative Anatomy and developing new courses.  Visit Dr. Meik's website for additional details.

Don Keith named Professor Emeritus

Dr. Donald Keith has been named Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences. We congratulate Dr. Keith for his 36 years of dedicated service to Tarleton. The title Emeritus is conferred to retired faculty on recommendation of the President with the approval of the Board of Regents in recognition of faithful and distinguished service to the University.

Recent graduate, Paige Cowley, publishes research

Paige Cowley recently graduated from Tarleton with her M.S. in Biology.  One paper that resulted from her graduate research at Tarleton is scheduled to be published in The Southwestern Naturalist: "Composition and structure of a mixed-hardwood bottomland forest in the West Cross Timbers of North-central Texas".

Her thesis adviser, Dr. Allan Nelson, as well as Dr. Randy Rosiere from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are co-authors.

Paige is currently employed with an environmental consulting firm and is working on a second paper from her thesis research at Tarleton's Hunewell Ranch. 

Recent graduate, Jeremy Munz, publishes thesis research

Jeremy Munz recently graduated from Tarleton with his M.S. in Biology.  His thesis research has just been published in the international journal Aquatic Ecology: "The influence of discharge, photoperiod, and temperature on the reproductive ecology of cyprinids in the Paluxy River, Texas".
His thesis adviser, Dr. Christopher Higgins, is co-author.

Jeremy is currently employed with an environmental consulting firm.

Congratulations Jeremy!

Dr. Don Keith retires

Please join us in honoring Dr. Don Keith upon his retirement. Dr. Keith will be retiring at the end of the Spring semester, 2012, after 37 years of dedicated service to Tarleton. Thanks Don for your dedication to teaching, research, and service!

New faculty member, Dr. Kristin Herrmann

We would like to announce our newest faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences, Dr. Kristin Herrmann. Dr. Herrmann is an invertebrate ecologist with a specialty in parasitology. Visit Dr. Herrmann's website for more details.

Six students receive Master's degree

Six students received their Master's degree Saturday, May 12th, 2012. Congratulations Paige, Steve, Allison, Jeremy, Lee, and Brian!

• Paige Cowley (Thesis title: A two year flora and survey for rare species at Tarleton State University's Hunewell Ranch, Erath County, Texas) Advised by Dr. Allan Nelson
• Steve Henderson
• Allison Love (Thesis title: Hybridization between Blacktail Shiner (Cyprinella venusta) and Red Shiner (Cyprinella lutrensis): A comparative study between an undisturbed and disturbed river system) Advised by Drs. Chris Higgins and Russell Pfau
• Jeremy Munz (Thesis title: Temporal variation in life-history characteristics of five species from a single fish assemblage in the Paluxy River, Texas) Advised by Dr. Chris Higgins
• Lee Richardson (Thesis title: Distribution and hybridization of eastern and western lineages of the cotton rat, Sigmodon hispidus, in Arkansas) Advised by Dr. Russell Pfau
• Brian Scoggins

Paper published updating distribution of shrews

Article about Dr. Pfau's (and colleagues) discovery of the Northern Short-Tailed Shrew in Arkansas

Occurrence of Blarina brevicauda in Arkansas and Notes on the Distribution of Blarina carolinensis and Cryptotis parva

R.S. Pfau, D.B. Sasse, M.B. Connior, and I.F. Guenther
Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 65, 2011

Abstract:
We provide an update on the species and distribution of shrews occurring in Arkansas. Shrews were collected within Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Wildlife Management Areas and along the Buffalo National River. We also searched mammal collections at several institutional museums to provide additional locality records for Cryptotis parva. Specimens of Blarina were identified to species by DNA sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. Previously, Blarina hylophaga was believed to occur in the northwest corner of Arkansas and B. carolinensis throughout the rest of the state. However, our genetic analysis revealed that it is B. brevicauda that occupies the northwestern portion of the state. We also document several new county records for B. carolinensis and C. parva in Arkansas.

Kelly Reyna, Biological Sciences alumnus, studies declining quail populations

http://www.ntdaily.com/?p=60308

http://www.biology.unt.edu/Reyna

Stephanie Painter successfully defends thesis

Stephanie Painter, Master's degree candidate, successfully defended her thesis November 2nd.  Her project was entitled "Using quantitative PCR (qPCR)to investigate a potential correlation between populations of the pathogenic amoeba Naegleria fowleri and the bacterium Escherichia coli within Lake Granbury, Texas".  Congratulations Stephanie!