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Verrell Lab
Unraveling Darwin's "mystery of
mysteries" since 1983
Paul Verrell was
trained as an ethologist at the Open University in England, from where
he received his Ph.D.
in 1983. The major research themes in the Verrell Lab concern
ultimate questions about the function and evolution of the sexual
behavior patterns of animals. These questions are phrased
at three major levels: among individuals within populations,
among populations within species, and among species within clades.
One big goal is to understand how different microevolutionary
patterns have produced the macroevolutionary patterns that we see.
Our hypothesis is that much of the diversity of sexual behavior
patterns in animals is a result of sexual selection (competition for
and choice of mates).
While amphibians are favorite subjects for research in the Verrell Lab,
we aren't exclusively salamander and frog people. We've also
conducted work on chameleons, lizards, tarantulas and worms. And
sex isn't our only interest. For example, past and ongoing
projects include studies of territoriality, predator-prey interactions,
and behavioral toxicology. The Verrell Lab is also affiliated
with the Center for
Reproductive Biology at Washington State University and the University of Idaho.
In addition to maintaining an active lab, Paul Verrell also teaches a
number of undergraduate and graduate classes, and serves as
Associate Director for Undergraduate Programs in the School of
Biological Sciences. He was also named Outstanding Thesis Advisor
by the WSU Honors College in May 2004.
Graduate Students
Below
is a list
of people past and present who have worked in the Verrell Lab, together
with a summary of their interests:
- Kim
Herring (M.S. 1994): Sexual behavior patterns and population divergence
in desmognathine salamanders.
- Cara
Shillington (M.S. 1996): The sexual strategies of a North American
tarantula.
- Brook
Vinnedge (M.S. 1996): Behavioral correlates of high mating success in
male salamanders.
- Susan
Gershman (M.S. 1999): Male and female contributions to mating success
in salamanders.
- Julie
Fronzuto (Ph.D. 2000): Predator-prey interactions between two
ambystomatid salamanders.
- Jared
Farley (M.S. 2001): Distribution of snakes and toads along the Snake
River in southeastern Washington.
- Megan
Hines (M.S. 2001): Behavioral domestication in salmonid fishes.
- Erin Kelso
(M.S. 2001): Courtship in the veiled chameleon.
- Barry
Stephenson (M.S. 2001): Courtship and mating of the tailed frog.
- David
Butler (M.S. 2004): Behavioral toxicology of earthworms.
- Abbey
Davis (M.S. 2004, Ph.D. in progress): Reproductive ecology and
demography of the Columbia spotted frog.
- Michelle
Mabry (Ph.D. 2004): Sexual behavior patterns and population divergence
in desmognathine salamanders.
- Kim King
(M.S. in progress): The design of nature reserves in western Africa.
- Evan Young
(M.S. in progress): Variation in courtship investment by male
salamanders as a function
of female responsiveness.
- Cyndi
White (Ph.D. in progress): The behavioral ecology of non-breeding
ambystomatid salamanders.
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Selected Publications
Since 2000
- Verrell, P.
2000.
Methoxychlor increases susceptibility to predation in the
salamander Ambystoma macrodactylum. Bulletin of
Environmental Contamination
and Toxicology 64: 85-92.
- Verrell, P.
and
Mabry,
M. 2000. The courtship of plethodontid salamanders: form,
function,
and phylogeny. In: The Biology of Plethodontid Salamanders (R.C. Bruce, R.G. Jaeger, L.D.
Houck,
Eds). pp.371-380. Plenum Press, NY.
- Gershman,
S.N.
and Verrell, P.A. 2002. To persuade or to be persuaded: which sex
controls mating in a plethodontid salamander? Behaviour. 139: 447-462.
- Kelso, E.C.
and
Verrell, P.A. 2002. Do male veiled chameleons, Chamaeleo
calyptratus, adjust their courtship displays in response to female reproductive status?
Ethology 108: 495-512.
- Cipponeri,
T. and
Verrell, P. 2003. An uneasy alliance: unequal distribution of
affiliative interactions among members of a captive wolf pack. Canadian Journal of Zoology
81:1763-1766.
- Mabry, M.
and
Verrell,
P. 2003. All are one and one is all: sexual uniformity among
widely
separated populations of the North American seal salamander, Desmognathus monticola. Biological
Journal of the Linnean Society 78:1-10.
- Stephenson,
B.
and Verrell, P. 2003. Courtship and mating of the tailed frog (Ascaphus
truei). Journal of Zoology, London 259:15-22.
- Verrell, P.
2003.
Population and species divergence of chemical cues that influence male
recognition
of females in desmognathine salamanders. Ethology 109:577-58
- Verrell, P.
and
Mabry,
M. 2003. Sexual behaviour of the Black Mountain dusky salamander (Desmognathis
welteri), and the evolutionary history of courtship in the
Desmognathinae. Journal of
Zoology, London 260:367-376.
- Verrell, P.
and
Van Buskirk, E. 2004. As the worm turns: Eisenia fetida
avoids soil contaminated by a glyphosate-based herbicide.
Bulletin of Environmental
Contamination and Toxicology
72:219-224
- Lucas,
M.D.,
Drew, R.E., Wheeler, P.A., Verrell, P.A. and Thorgaard, G.H. 2004.
Behavioral
differences among rainbow trout clonal lines. Behavior Genetics 34:355-365.
- Mabry, M.
and
Verrell,
P.A. 2004. Stifled sex in sympatry: patterns of sexual
incompatibility
among desmognathine salamanders. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
82:367-375.
Links to Professional
Societies
The Herpetologist's
League
Animal
Behavior Society
American Society of
Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
Society for the study
of Amphibians and Reptiles
Society for Northwestern
Vertebrate Biology
Pacific Northwest
Amphibian and Reptile Consortium
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