Research

The research programs in the Department of Zoology are nationally recognized and internationally acclaimed. Faculty serve as editors of the most prestigious journals in their fields and as officers of major academic societies (e.g., AAAS, American Society of Naturalists, Ecological Society of America, International Society of Developmental and Comparative Immunology, Society for the Study of Evolution). In a recent ranking of research programs in ecology, evolution and behavior, Oregon State University placed in the top 18 of programs in the United States and was the highest ranked scientific program in the State of Oregon. Research in the Department focuses on three areas: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Physiology & Behavior, and Development & Cell Biology. A great strength of the Department is that many of our faculty work in two or even three of these areas. Consequently, the assignment of faculty to just one area in the following account is somewhat arbitrary.

1. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

Hacker, Hixon, Lubchenco, and Menge are concerned with the structure of marine communities. Hixon studies the mechanisms driving and regulating local populations and metapopulations of marine fishes, as well as the processes that affect local species diversity, on both tropical coral reefs and temperate rocky reefs. He is also actively involved in marine conservation biology and policy as a scientific advisor at the state, national, and international level, especially in the context of marine reserves. Hacker, Lubchenco and Menge focus on the factors determining community structure in intertidal communities. Recently they have taken a comparative approach, expanding their long-term studies of the Oregon coast to include sites in Chile and New Zealand. Hacker works in a variety of other marine habitats including estuaries and dunes. She specializes on the interaction of both native and invasive species to species diversity.

Blaustein and Beatty are interested in amphibian population ecology and distribution. Worldwide decline in amphibian populations is a major focus in the Blaustein lab. Blaustein's group has taken an experimental approach to the problem and explored the roles of UV radiation and environmental contaminants. Beatty is working on the population dynamics of indicator species in the Cascades.

Borer examines the roles of nutrients and consumers in controlling community composition, including disease. She does experiments in grasslands, but also uses modeling and meta-analysis to examine community structuring. Seabloom studies the effects of environmental change and other disturbances on the composition, invasion, and restoration of natural communities. Areas of particular interest include the effects of invasion, nutrient supply, and climate change on grassland pathogen communities, the mechanisms and ecosystem implications of invasion in grasslands, the effects of nutrient additions and trophic interactions on plant communities, and the role of species invasions in altering coastal dune ecosystems (he collaborates with Hacker on this research).

Arnold, Blouin, Denver, Lytle, and Ruben work on evolutionary problems from the molecular level up through communities. Blouin works on evolutionary and conservation genetics of various taxa, including frogs, salmon and parasites. Arnold uses quantitative genetic theory to model the evolution of geographic variation and species differences in continuously-distributed traits, using garter snakes and their relatives as a model system. Denver examines patterns and processes of genome evolution in nematodes by integrating classic evolutionary theories, phylogenetics, experimental evolution, microarrays and next generation DNA sequencing technologies. The Lytle lab uses evolutionary ecology to understand how aquatic organisms are shaped by disturbances such as floods, droughts, and dams. Empirically most of their focus is on aquatic insects, but lab members also work on projects involving riparian trees and freshwater fish. Ruben works on major features of evolution in the fossil record and has taken a physiological perspective on the evolutionary origin of birds and dinosaurs.

Warrick studies the biomechanics, aerodynamics, ecological relevance, and evolution of avian flight.

For more information on Ecology and Evolutionary Biology research in the College of Science see the Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology webpage.

2. Physiology and Behavior.

Brownell, Houck, and Mason focus on chemoreception and chemical communication. Brownell works on the chemical senses and behavioral ecology of scorpions and their relatives. Houck works on courtship pheromones in salamanders and the roles they play in sexual selection and speciation. Mason works on mediation of reproduction in garter snakes by hormones and pheromones. Giebultowicz studies physiology of reproduction and aging in Drosophila and Lepidoptera. 

3. Developmental and Cell Biology.

Weis studies communication within and between species at the molecular level, including the physiological, biochemical and molecular mechanisms underlying cooperative symbioses of algae and their sea anemone hosts. Taylor studies how single genes affect the development and expression of complex behaviors in fruitflies (Drosophila). Zhang uses micromanipulations to experimentally investigate the role of fundamental mechanisms in cell division. Giebultowicz studies molecular and cellular basis of biological clocks in Drosophila and Lepidoptera.