Biology Department Research Opportunities
Below is a list of past student research projects arranged by faculty mentor, however, all Biology Faculty are interested in providing both undergraduate and graduate level opportunities for student research. Check each faculty member's information page to see what they have listed as research interests and feel free to visit with or contact them if you see a project with a research topic that interests you.Faculty Advisor: Loren Ammerman
Gema Guerra - Genetic variability in the western spotted skunk, Spilogale gracilis. MS student and Carr Research Student, co-advised with Robert Dowler.
Carson Brown - Genetic population structure of a migratory bat, Leptonycteris nivalis: Implications for the conservation of an endangered species. MS student and Carr Research Scholar
Molly McDonough – Genetic and morphological variation in Wagner’s Mastiff Bat, Eumops glaucinus, and its closest relative Eumops floridanus (Chiroptera: Molossidae). MS student.
Adam Ferguson – Molecular assessment of a community of African shrews (Soricimorpha: Crocidurinae) from west-central Africa. Carr Research Scholar
Dana Lee – Taxonomic status of the Davis Mountain's cottontail, Sylvilagus
robustus, revealed by amplified fragment length polymorphism. MS student and Carr Research Scholar
Richard Dolman – Molecular systematics of the fee-tailed bat genus Nyctinomops based on mitochondrial and nuclear sequence data. MS student and Carr Research Scholar
Jay Packer – Molecular systematics of the cockatoos based on mitochondrial and nuclear sequence data. MS student
Faculty Advisor: Robert DowlerJeffrey Doty: Effects of prickly-pear cactus density on mammalian den abundance and use patterns in West-Central Texas (M.S. thesis research and Carr Graduate Research project)
Carla Ebeling: Survey of mammals of Brown County, TX (undergraduate research project)
Derek Weaver: Karyotypes of skunks in West-Central TX (undergraduate research project)
Faculty Advisor: Crosby Jones
Kimberly Dybdahl: The influence of growth parameters upon the production of Staphylococcal Enterotoxin A (SEA) by Staphylococcus aureus as monitored by immunodiffusion tests. (M.S. thesis research).
Frank Simpson: Detecting different strains of Escherichia coli as a means to trace the animal source of water contamination. (graduate student research project)
Phillip Balfanz: Characterization of a compound with broad antimicrobial properties isolated from a soil bacterium. (undergraduate research project)
Reagan Mackey and Doug Larsen: Staphylococcal isolation from a bridge population of Mexican free-tailed bats ( Tadarida brasiliensis). (undergraduate research project)
Alyn Hatter: Isolation of novobiocin resistant species of Staphylococcus from human urine. (undergraduate research project)
Faculty Advisor: David Marsh
Shannon Coad: Electrical responses of the retina in the Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) to photic stimulation. (M.S. thesis research)
Faculty Advisor: Kelly McCoy
James Holm: Microhabitat use, thermal profile, and activity patterns of the ornate box turtle (Terrapene ornata) in the Monahans sandhills of west Texas. (M.S. thesis research)
Faculty Advisor: Russell Wilke
Shelly Novotny: Nesting site preference of the cave swallow (Petrochelidon fulva) in west-central Texas (M.S. thesis research)