Tel. (701) 777-4290 (my office) or 777-2621 (Biology Dept Office)
e-mail: robert.newman@und.nodak.edu
academic background
Associate Professor, University of North Dakota (2001-present)
Assistant Professor, University of North Dakota (1995 - 2001)
Research Training Group Coordinator and Research Experience for
Undergraduate
Director, Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University
(1993-1995)
Visiting Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech University (1989-1992)
Lecturer, University of Pennsylvania (1987-1989)
Ph.D., 1987, University of Pennsylvania
B.S., 1981, Duke University
research interests
Life history evolution, population ecology and genetics,
conservation biology,
amphibian ecology
Brief description of research
I am interested in the ecological and evolutionary consequences of
environmental
variation. My primary focus has been on life history evolution and the
evolution
of phenotypic plasticity in larval amphibian growth and development.
The environment has a strong influence on an
organism's behavior, physiology, life history, and fitness. I am
interested in how environmental
variation, when integrated over all individuals in a population,
affects
population dynamics and structure (spatial distribution and genetic
composition),
and natural selection. Since 1982 I have conducted detailed studies of
several
species of amphibians, primarily those breeding in temporary ponds. I
began
my research on desert species in Big Bend National Park, Texas. I
am
currently working on wood frogs (mostly) in North Dakota that breed in
a
variety of wetland habitats. My research examines the range of
environmental
conditions experienced by individuals and populations, the phenotypic
responses
of individuals to environmental variation, and the consequences of the
responses
to individual fitness and population dynamics.
I am particularly interested in the extent to which
natural
selection acts on phenotypic responses to the environment (reaction
norms)
and the limits to the evolution of adaptive reaction norms. My approach
to
the latter is to examine the range of genetic variation in reaction
norms
within a population using quantitative genetic methods. Understanding
selection
on reaction norms also requires an assessment of dispersal and spatial
population
structure, which determine the relevant spatial scale on which to
examine
environmental variation. The ecological side of this question is that
the
dynamics of spatially-distributed populations (e.g. metapopulations)
depends
on where individuals are located, what conditions they experience, and
the
amount of dispersal across a population's range. I address these
questions
by measuring dispersal of marked individuals and estimating the
resulting
population structure using molecular markers.
Finally, I am interested in the application of
ecological knowledge to the conservation of biodiversity. One of my
goals is to understand the ways in which human activities alter
ecological and evolutionary processes. Because amphibians are
small-bodied ectotherms with highly-permeable skin, they are very
sensitive to changes in their physical and chemical environment. As a
result they are susceptible to effects of human land management
practices and good indicators of environmental change.
1992 Adaptive plasticity in amphibian metamorphosis. Bioscience 42: 671-678.
1994 Effects of changing density and food level on metamorphosis of a desert amphibian, Scaphiopus couchii. Ecology 75: 1085-1096.
1994 Genetic variation for phenotypic plasticity in the larval life history of spadefoot toads (Scaphiopus couchii ). Evolution 48: 1773-1785.
1998 Ecological constraints on amphibian metamorphosis: interactions of temperature and larval density with responses to changing food level. Oecologia 115: 9-16.
1999 Body size and diet of recently metamorphosed spadefoot toads (Scaphiopus couchii). Herpetologica 55: 507-515.
2001 Microsatellite variation and fine-scale population structure of wood frogs (Rana sylvatica). R. A. Newman and T. Squire. Molecular Ecology 10: 1087-1100.
Responses of wood frog (Rana sylvatica) larvae to changing environmental conditions. in prep.
An experimental analysis of microgeographic variation in larval growth and development in the wood frog (Rana sylvatica) on the northern great plains. in prep.
Genetic population structure of the plains Spadefoot toad (Scapiophus
(Spea) bombifrons) on the northern plains (T. Becker and R. A.
Newman). in prep.
Thanks for visiting!
Why walk ? ... when you could be running
!!!!
