Current Members
Dr. Matt Stone—Matt earned his B.S. in Biology from Eckerd College in 2000, his M.S. in Biology from Missouri State University in 2003, and his Ph.D. in Zoology from Oklahoma State University in 2009. In Fall 2009 he joined the Biology Department at Kutztown University. Dr. Stone’s research focuses on issues of reptile and amphibian conservation, particularly turtles. Additionally, Dr. Stone is interested in how reproductive effort influences maternal bone density. At KU he is the co-chair of the Premedical Committee and he teaches courses in introductory biology, physiology, histology, herpetology, and research methodology. Matt lives with his wife, son, two dogs, 4 chickens, duck, tortoise, and bearded dragon at their home in the countryside near Kutztown, PA. In his free time he enjoys gardening, fishing, hunting, home maintenance, and homebrewing. To view his CV click here.
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Carl Maiese
Research Overview: Anthropogenic alteration of natural habitats can cause problems for many species of wildlife. Efforts to restore degraded habitats have had some success, but long-term monitoring of those impacts is important. For my project, I am investigating the effects of habitat restoration on the ecology of Timber Rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center, a site of ongoing restoration after years of heavy metal mining. My project is trying to determine how the historic habitat degradation and subsequent restoration efforts are influencing the behavior, reproduction, and demographics of rattlesnakes. Biography: From an early age I have loved reptiles, constantly exploring the neighborhood in an attempt to catch snakes. Later I volunteered at Reptile Canyon for 3 years where I fully realized my passion. Venomous reptiles have always captured my attention; they carry with them differences in their displayed intelligence. With a hands-off opportunity at Reptile Canyon I had the chance to gain experience and learn more about them. At the age of 16, my hobby of keeping venomous snakes took off, after I obtained an adult Southern Copperhead . My collection has grown since I obtained my first “hot” snake. The experience gained from working with Timber Rattlesnakes’ population helps demonstrate my willingness to work and study these reptiles through grad school; where I hope to have a future conducting my own research on venomous reptiles. |
Past Members
Melissa Bernhard—is a 2012 Biology graduate. While at KU, Melissa investigated the relationship between environmental factors and their effects on physiological responses of turtles. Specifically she studied the effects of rainfall patterns and body condition on the concentration of urinary corticosterone in the Texas Tortoise, Gopherus berlandieri. Melissa graduated Spring 2012 and she is currently a M.S. student at the College of Charleston where she is working under the direction of Dr. Satomi Kohno. A short feature of Melissa can be found in our Fall 2013 edition of the Biology Department’s newsletter.
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Dustin Greenleaf—While at Kutztown, Dustin’s research investigated the calcium requirements of egg-laying geckos during pregnancy to determine whether gravid females sacrifice the integrity of their own bone during egg production. He used histological techniques to relate gender, size, reproductive status, and femur bone density to endolymphatic calcium reserves. Dustin’s research was partially funded by a research grant from the Kutztown University Undergraduate Research Committee. After graduating from Kutztown University he obtained a histotechnology position at LifeCell Corporation in Branchburg, NJ. Dustin has personal interests in reptile and amphibian husbandry and homebrewing.
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Michael Gubler—was a member of the salamander stress project. The goal of his project was to examine the effects of handling stress on whole-body corticosterone in Red-backed Salamanders (Plethodon cinereus). Michael worked with lab mate Jessica Huber in the development/troubleshooting of the corticosterone ELISA. Michael’s project was funded by the Kutztown University Undergraduate Research Committee.
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Jessica Huber—is a 2014 KU graduate, was a member of the salamander stress project. Jessica helped to develop and troubleshoot an ELISA to quantify corticosterone in Plethodon cinereus. She presented the results of her research at the 45th Annual Meeting of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania University Biologists. In addition to research and scholastics Jessica was an active member of the Track & Field/Cross Country team. She is currently employed at Connective Tissue Gene Tests in Allentown, PA.
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Kristin Koroncai—was the first full-time member of the Wallops Island/Chincoteague Terrapin Project and was instrumental in getting this project off of the ground and running smoothly. Kristin also conducted a research project that she had funded by a grant from the Diamondback Terrapin Working Group. That project compared two different methods of estimating age in diamondback terrapins, scute growth rings and skeletochronology. Kristin is currently a graduate student at the University of West Florida working towards her M.S. in Environmental Science.
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Sarah Kropf—was involved in the Wallops Island/Chincoteague Terrapin Project. Among other activities, she conducted daily roadkill surveys to determine the impacts of the route 175 causeway on the local terrapin population. Sarah compared the characteristics of habitat located adjacent to the causeway to the number of terrapins killed in an effort to explain the differences in roadkill frequency that we observed between the different sections of the causeway. Her research may help in the management of local terrapin populations. Sarah presented the results of her research at the 45th Annual Meeting of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania University Biologists where she won 1st place for her oral presentation. Sarah recently took a position at the Lehigh Valley Zoo and now she is currently employed as a conservationist at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, NM.
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Rosa Malloy-- is a 2015 KU graduate. Her project sought to identify key nesting areas and to monitor nest success near Wallops Island, VA. Using a Geographic Information System (GIS), she created maps consisting of primarily LiDAR data to visually predict where terrapin nesting sites were likely to be found and then validated those sites through on-the-ground visual surveys. Nest predation rates were also calculated among various sites withing the study area. Rosa's research contributes to our understanding of the nesting biology and conservation of terrapins in this region. Rosa presented the results of her work at the 100th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of American in Baltimore, MD.
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Alec “AJ” Turner—is a 2012 KU Biology graduate. His research in the Stone Lab investigated Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) and its ability to estimate body composition of turtles. Specifically, he wanted to know how ingested material (e.g. sand) influenced the accuracy and precision of DXA body composition estimates. A portion of AJ’s research was featured in a book chapter that he co-authored. AJ recently completed his M.S. student at the College of Charleston. He is studying the reproductive biology of the chain catshark, Scyliorhinus rotifer.
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