The Gunderson Lab - Tulane

Alex R. Gunderson, Phd

Assistant Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

agunderson@tulane.edu

Annelise Blanchette, phd Candidate

I am broadly interested in animal behavior, ecotoxicology, and urban ecology. I study how soil lead contamination in New Orleans impacts Anolis lizards from a behavioral, physiological, and genetic perspective. I am co-advised by Dr. Jordan Karubian. For my Masters, I studied the antipredator behaviors of aposematic and cryptic frogs in Costa Rica in Dr. Ralph Saporito’s lab at John Carroll University.

ablanchette@tulane.edu

julie rej, phd Candidate

I am interested in examining how species can adapt to climate change. Using thermal and physiological data, create mechanistic models to more accurately predict areas of suitable habitat in the future. Lizards are my primary target group, and previously, I examined their fossil record for my Master’s. I want to use the information on modern adaptation in response to climate change to inform how lizards might have evolved in the past.

jrej@tulane.edu

Shannan Yates, Phd Student

I am interested in how anthropogenic change drives behavioral, physiological and genetic change across urbanization gradients. I completed my undergraduate work at the University of The Bahamas, after which I worked as a biologist throughout the islands of the Bahamas, engaging in general fieldwork with rock iguanas, Anolis lizards, land crabs and Bahama swallows. I previously worked as an Assistant Curator at The Bahamas National Trust and I am a Bahamian, originating from Jamaica.

syates1@tulane.edu

Natalie Page, MS Student

Natalie studied how urbanization affects the thermal landscapes that lizards experience using Anolis sagrei in New Orleans as a model system. She is interested in the intersection between environmental change and policy.

Grace Gleason, MS Student

Grace studied thermal acclimation in the physiology of lizard embryos for her Master’s research. She is interested in global change biology and conservation biology.

ggleason@tulan.edu

Erin Sheehy, MS Student

For her Master’s degree, Erin studied how temperature influences body color change in green and brown anole lizards. She is broadly interested in color change, phenotypic plasticity, community ecology, and species interactions.

esheehy@tulane.edu

Sean Deery, MS Student

Sean’s Masters research focused on the ecological significance of differences in heat hardening capacity (a form of rapid physiological plasticity) between Anolis species. He is interested in animal conservation.

sdeery@tulane.edu

luGhán Ryan, ms Student

Lughán did research on plasticity in thermal preferences and temperature-dependent activity in the lizards Anolis carolinensis and A. sagrei for their Masters degree. They are generally interested in what makes invasive species successful and how species deal with rapid climate change.

lryan2@tulane.edu

Akhila Gopal, Laboratory technician

Akhila got her MS in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Tulane and worked in the lab as a Laboratory Technician. She is interested in animal behavior, physiology, and plasticity in response to climate change. She is currently a PhD student in the lab of Dr. Mike Logan at the University of Nevada.

agopal1@tulane.edu

Daniel haro, laboratory technician

After getting his MS at Cal Poly, Danny worked in the lab as a Laboratory Technician. He is interested in physiological ecology and conservation, and is currently a PhD student at the University of Florida working with Dr. Christina Romagosa.

daniel.haro.1215@gmail.com