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Department of Biology |
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Lawrence S. BlumerDepartment of BiologyAssociate Professor
Education: BGS: University of Michigan, 1974 MS: Zoology, University of Michigan, 1978 Ph.D: Biological Sciences, University of Michigan, 1982 Ph.D Thesis: Parental care and reproductive ecology of the North American catfish, Ictalurus nebulosus Courses Taught: General Biology for Science Majors 1 (BIO 111) General Biology for Science Majors 2 (BIO 112) Ecology (BIO 320) Ecology Laboratory (BIO 320L) Environmental Biology (BIO 497) Senior Seminar in Biology (BIO 425) Research Interests: Ecology, Animal Behavior, Evolution
My research is in the areas of behavioral ecology and evolutionary biology.
Currently my students and I are studying mate choice, sexual selection,
and the consequences of mate choice in animals. We are evaluating the
effects on neuropeptides on the female mate choice in sailfin mollies,
Poecilia latipinna. The molly studies are in collaboration with
Dr. Christopher Beck (Emory University). In separate studies, we are evaluating
the reproductive-behavioral consequences of induced social stress in convict
cichlids, Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum.
We also are conducting studies on the behavior, ecology and evolutionary
biology of insects. In collaboration with Dr. Christopher Beck, we are
developing undergraduate laboratory teaching protocols with the Bruchid
bean beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus. Visit our website:
www.beanbeetles.org for access to these teaching resources.
Other studies are evaluating competition between two parasitoids, Melattobia
and Nasonia. This work is being conducted in collaboration with
Dr. Robert Matthews (University of Georgia). In another study, we are
evaluating the rapid induction of chemical defenses in ornamental tobacco,
Nicotiana alata, and using tobacco hornworm larvae, Manduca
sexta, as a biological indicator for induced chemical defenses.
My previous studies have focused on the evolution of parental care in
fishes, the ecology of male parental care in the brown bullhead (a North
American catfish) Ictalurus nebulosus, kin recognition in fishes,
and the dynamics of mate choice and sexual selection in animals. In addition
to these areas of research, students who wish to work with me may pursue
investigations in other areas of ecology and environmental biology (broadly
defined). Past studies conducted by students have been on the causes for
growth variation in loblolly pine trees, factors influencing rates of
domestic compost decomposition, bean beetle host selection and avoidance
of competition, causes for birth weight variation in humans, patterns
of human infant facial resemblance, social behavior and population genetics
of fiddler crabs, patterns in plant defenses in response to herbivory,
and evaluation of behavioral toxicology assays. Selected Publications: Blumer, L.S. 1997. Phenotypic variation in plants. In: Tested Studies for Laboratory Teaching, Volume 18. pp 231-247. Glase, J. C. (ed.). Association for Biology Laboratory Education. Beck, C., Blumer, L., and Brown, T. 2003. Effects of salinity on metabolic rate of black mollies. Pages 211-222, in Tested Studies for Laboratory Teaching, Volume 24 (M. O’Donnell, Editor). Proceedings of the 24th Workshop/Conference of the Association for Biology Laboratory Education (ABLE), 334 pages.
Hyperlinks of Interest:
Research Opportunities in Blumer Laboratory Information on bean beetles, Callosobruchus maculatus, a model organism for undergraduate laboratories in Ecology, Evolution and Animal Behavior Department of Biology
(404) 658-1142 Last Updated: 02February2006 |
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