Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Research

Studies from these disciplines focus on conservation, response to climate change, population genetics, physiological ecology, and the ecology and evolution of both social insects and symbiosis. Researchers use a combination of modeling, molecular ecology, genomics, and phylogenetics to address these focal areas. This work also combines manipulative and observational lab experiments with field research in sites across Costa Rica, central Africa, and the American subtropics.

Faculty Conducting Research in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

	Faculty Member	Expertise
	Edward (Ted) Daeschler Professor; Curator and Chair of Vertebrate Zoology, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway Philadelphia, PA 19103 ebd29@drexel.edu	Vertebrate Paleontology History of the Earth Late Devonian fossil vertebrates Origin of tetrapods Fossil collecting Museum curation
	Jon Gelhaus Curator and Department Chair, Entomology Department, Academy of Natural Sciences Department of Entomology, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University jkg78@drexel.edu	Taxonomy Systematics Entomology Biodiversity Water Quality Museum Collections
	Danielle Kreeger Visiting Research Associate Professor in the Department of Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Sciences PISB 315 dak29@drexel.edu
	Tatyana Livshultz Associate Professor; Assistant Curator of Botany, Academy of Natural Sciences ANS tl534@drexel.edu	Botany Phylogenetic reconstruction Evolution of plant specialized metabolism Plant-insect interactions Plant functional morphology
	John G. Lundberg Professor Emeritus of Biodiversity, Earth & Environmental Science; Curator Emeritus, ANS jgl43@drexel.edu	Most of my research concerns the diversity and diversification of fishes. I seek to document and interpret the character (morphological and molecular) and taxonomic diversity of living and fossil fishes in the interrelated fields of systematics, faunistics and biogeography, and paleobiology. My work has a significant field component with exploration and collecting in poorly-known tropical freshwater habitats and regions.
	Michael O'Connor Professor; Chair, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee PISB 318 oconnomp@drexel.edu	Thermal, hydric, & energetic effects on the activity and distribution of reptiles and amphibians Physical constraints on heat and mass exchange by reptiles and amphbians Physiological and physical constraints on gas exchange in sea turtle nests - effects on metabolism and development
	Sean O'Donnell Professor PISB 324 so356@drexel.edu	Brain plasticity and the evolution of brain structure Social behavior and division of labor, especially of eusocial Hymenoptera Thermal ecology and thermal physiology Network models of social group organization Behavior and ecology of bird-army ant interactions Human-safe insecticides
	Daniel Otte Professor Emeritus of Biodiversity, Earth & Environmental Science; Senior Curator Emeritus, ANS Entomology, ANS do332@drexel.edu	I am a taxon scientist who specializes on the the taxonomy and biogeography of Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, katydids and their relatives), but I concentrate mainly on grasshoppers (Acridoidea) and crickets (Grylloidea). My principal interest, besides discovering new taxa, is in studying the origin of species. Over my career I have worked mainly on large faunal treatments of crickets (crickets of Australia, Hawaii, the Caribbean, Fiji, and New Caledonia) and grasshoppers (North America and southern Africa). I have discovered and named approximately 1600 species and have discovered nearly 25% of the World’s 5000+ cricket species. My main emphasis has been in studying the earliest stages of speciation. In crickets I use mainly the songs for initial recognition of species. This allowed me to discover large numbers of species that could not be distinguished by morphology alone. I spent approximately 15 years assembling major online catalogs to the world’s species of Orthoptera, Mantodea, Phasmida and Blattodea. All told, the catalogs cover about 45,000 species. The databases are almost unique in biology in scope; they cover all known species and have begun to accumulate everything known about the world’s species (images, distribution, habitat, ecology, life cycles, etc). The Orthoptera Species File is now financially endowed and will be supported in perpetuity. No other taxonomic databases are as comprehensive. I am currently attempting to complete two faunal treatments of grasshoppers: an all-species taxonomic treatment of North American grasshoppers, covering the entire continent (plus the Caribbean basin), plus an all-species treatment of the grasshoppers of Southern Africa (from the Zambezi southwards). Each volume will contain approximately 1000 species (of these about 20% of the species are expected to be new to science). I spend much of my time working in museums that have good holdings of North American and southern African grasshoppers (Berlin, London, Madrid, Paris, University of Michigan, California Academy of Sciences, and the National Insect Collection in Pretoria).
	Marina Potapova Associate Professor Curator of Diatoms, Academy of Natural Sciences mp895@drexel.edu	Water quality Algae, Protists Diatoms Aquatic Ecology Biological Collections Environmental Pollution
	Gary Rosenberg Professor; Pilsbry Chair of Malacology, Academy of Natural Sciences Malacology, ANS gr347@drexel.edu	Malacology Systematics Evolution Taxonomy Nomenclature
	Jacob A. Russell Professor PISB 325 jar337@drexel.edu	Roles of bacterial symbionts in ant evolution Function, stability, and dynamics of heritable symbiont communities in aphids Genomic mechanisms driving correlations between symbiosis and insect ecology Coevolutionary histories between insects and their microbes
	Alexis Schulman Assistant Research Professor; Director of the Environmental Studies and Sustainability Program Dolan Fellow for Innovation in Water Science, Patrick Center for Environmental Research, Academy of Natural Sciences Patrick Center 336 as5293@drexel.edu	Environmental policy and politics Urban planning Sustainability and resilience transitions Policy implementation Local knowledge and community science
	Jocelyn A. Sessa Associate Professor; Associate Curator, Invertebrate Paleontology Department, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway Philadelphia, PA 19103 jsessa@drexel.edu	Ocean acidification Mollusks Climate change Paleobiology
	Loÿc Vanderkluysen Associate Professor PISB, Room 322 loyc@drexel.edu	Volcano remote sensing and monitoring Volcanic gasses Igneous petrology and geochemistry Large Igneous Provinces
	David Velinsky Professor The Academy of Natural Sciences, 2nd Floor 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA velinsky@drexel.edu	Fate and transport of chemical contaminants Stable isotope and nutrient biogeochemistry Sediment geochemistry and deposition Water quality
	Jason D. Weckstein Associate Professor Associate Curator of Ornithology, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University Ornithology Department 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway Philadelphia, PA 19096 jdw342@drexel.edu	Phylogenetics Host-parasite coevolution; Ornithology Systematic biology; Comparative biology Biodiversity surveys Genomics