Position(s):
Professor, Dept. of Bioscience & Biotechnology
Betz Chair Professor of Environmental Science

Office: 314 Stratton Hall

Phone: (215) 895-2627 (Office)
           
Email: spotiljr@drexel.edu

B.S. - Biology, University of Dayton, Ohio
Ph.D. - Vertebrate Zoology and Physiological Ecology, University of Arkansas

Courses Taught

Bioclimatology
Tropical Ecology
Tropical Field Ecology
Issues in Global Issues I: Seminar
Issues in Global Issues II: Research

The research interests of my laboratory are centered in the areas of environmental science, physiological and biophysical ecology, fisheries biology and ichthyology, as well as conservation biology.  We are studying the thermoregulation of fish, amphibians, and reptiles that inhabit stressed habitats with the goal of understanding how constraints imposed by the physical environment affect the behavior and physiology of ectothermic vertebrates.
 
Current research involves the physiological and population ecology of sea turtles, the use of molecular markers to assess stress in animals and plants, the molecular basis for temperature dependent sex determination in reptiles, the molecular population genetics of sea turtles and other reptiles, and the effect of military training on endangered plants, animals and their ecosystems.

Post-Docs and Graduate Students

Amitabha Basu:
Eileen Banach:
Gabriela Blanco: Oceanic migration patterns and behavior of black turtles (Chelonia mydas) 
                         from Northwest Costa Rica using satellite telemetry.
Laurie Cotroneo:Population genetic structure of the American crocodile, Crocodylus acutus, 
                        across its distributional range.
Amy Hall:
Shaya Honarvar: Population dynamics of olive ridley sea turtles
Pilar Santidrian Tomillo: Population analysis of the leatherback turtles that   nest at Parque 
                                   Nacional Marino Las Baulas, Costa Rica. 
Jack Suss: Temperature-Dependent Sex Determination in freshwater turtles

Personal/Laboratory Website(s):