Public Engagement
WHO'S IN THE LAB?
Graduate Students
Stephanie Ruck
Interests include studying how environmental variables influence organismal behavior, physiology, and evolution. Previous and current experience includes working with federal agencies to collect data on herpetofauna of Southern California to better inform conservation management decisions. For my Master’s thesis, I am studying the behavioral response of lizards to wildfire cues as well as the selection pressures populations may face from such disturbances.
Daisy Xiong
My thesis project involves observations of Sceloporus lizards in urban vs. natural environments to determine whether urbanization is associated with shifts in substrate use, limb and toe morphology, and locomotor performance.
Undergraduate Students
Deanni Armstrong
Research: The effect of urbanization on the ecophysiology of Western Fence Lizards. This research is part of the larger RESCUE-Net project with 10 SoCal universities!
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Recent Graduates
Bayley Stevens, B.S. (2024)
Research: The effect of urbanization on the size of male sexual signals in Western Fence Lizards​. Bayley is now working with the Great Basin Institute as a desert tortoise survey technician.
Elmer Gutierrez, M.S. (2024)
Research: The effects of wildfires on predation risk, dorsal darkness, and background matching in Western Fence Lizards. Elmer is now working for AmeriCorps.
Emily Urquidi, M.S. (2024)
Research: The effect of urbanization on Western Fence Lizard's (Sceloporus occidentalis) health, stress, and response to competitors. Emily is a biologist at WSP.