 |
MARINA M. GERSON, Ph.D. |
|
Biological Sciences |
(209) 664-6694 |
California State University, Stanislaus |
Office: SSB-103 |
801 W. Monte Vista Avenue |
Hours: M/W 3-4:30 |
Turlock, CA 95382 |
COURSE INFORMATION
RESEARCH & INTERESTS
Main Focus
My research focuses on the ecology, behavior, and behavioral ecology of
terrestrial animals. The majority of my work has been on reptiles,
and my dissertation examined the ecology of the zebra-tailed lizard
(Callisaurus draconoides) in the Mojave and Colorado deserts
of Joshua Tree National
Park, in Southern California. Specifically,
I examined the diets of the lizards, and found that they consume a
very wide variety of arthropod and plant taxa and also a great range
of prey sizes. I also collected data on home ranges of all the individual
lizards in my study and found that males and females share space differently,
with males overlapping more females and fewer males than females overlap
with. The topography of the study site also appears to play a role in
how much overlap is observed between individual home ranges.
Recent Work
More recently, I have been using museum specimens from the
Museum of
Vertebrate Zoology at UC Berkeley to explore the curious
infrequency of caudal autotomy in zebra-tailed lizards. Given
that the lizards have very conspicuous tails, the populations
in Joshua Tree National Park have a surprisingly low frequency of
tail loss. I am examining the complete collection of C.
draconoides in the MVZ to determine whether this phenomenon
may be the result of human activity or whether the frequency is
similar in historically collected specimens.
Winter and Spring 2006, I am collaborating with Ron Bonett of
UC Berkeley, Julie Ray of Old Dominion University, and
Al Savitzky
of Old Dominion University, examining the antipredator behavior
of sharp-tailed snakes (Contia tenuis).
Other Interests
In Summer 2003, I collaborated with Jill DeVito, Jesse Meik, and Dan
Formanowicz at the E. N. Huyck Preserve in New York, examining the
thermal and desiccation tolerance of three species of sympatric
riparian wolf spiders. The three spiders are found at different distances
from the stream, and these correspond to the difference in desiccation
tolerance between the spiders.
I am also interested in tropical biology, and I have traveled in
Costa Rica, Belize, Honduras, and Guyana.
BIOLOGY LINKS
Informative Pages
Organizations
Anatomy Websites
Just for Fun
Copyright: Marina M. Gerson - November 2005
Page updated: 15 November 2005
