Jacqueline Litzgus

Professor

Department of Biology

Research

My research program combines field and lab-based approaches, and basic and applied science. Projects in my lab address questions in the areas of evolutionary ecology and conservation biology of reptiles, including examination of the adaptive significance of life history variation at geographic extremes (e.g., at northern range limits), and the application of these data to the design of conservation plans. Recent and current research examined/examines variation in the life history and ecology of federally-listed turtle and snake species, with emphasis on maternal investment, spatial ecology, road ecology, and habitat selection. The physiological research examines questions about the adaptive bioenergetic, fitness, and thermoregulatory consequences of certain behaviours, particularly summer and winter dormancy, in reptiles.