Nonnative species are a key agent of global change. However, nonnative invertebrates remain understudied at the community scales where they are most likely to drive local extirpations. We use the North American NEON pitfall trapping network to docu- ment the number of nonnative species from 51 invertebrate communities, testing four classes of drivers. We sequenced samples using the eDNA from the sample’s...

Anurans (frogs and toads) are an ecologically diverse group of vertebrate organisms that display a myriad of reproductive modes and life history traits. To persist in such an expansive array of habitats, these organisms have evolved specialized skin that is used for respiration while also protecting against moisture loss, pathogens, and environmental contaminants. Anuran skin is also colonized by communities of symbiotic...

Biodiversity monitoring is imperative for understanding how changing climate may impact the distributions of taxa from single species to the spatial distribution of biolog- ical diversity. Large-scale and cross-taxa biodiversity monitoring also allows an empiri- cal understanding of biogeographic patterns across taxa. One such pattern, where in taxonomic richness peaks at tropical latitudes are typically treated as a biogeographical rule with few...

The study of animal personality is a growing field that has applications for welfare of animals living in captive settings. We measured personality traits (activity, exploration, and neophobia) in Texas horned lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) living in human care before they were released to their natal habitat as part of a headstart program. We found evidence of consistent inter-individual differences in activity and...

This past weekend, 15 other OU McNair scholars and I traveled to the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas to present our research from the past year.  The McNair Scholars Program is a federal program to prepare undergraduate underrepresented students for doctoral studies through research and mentorships.  I presented the research that the Siler Lab and I conducted over the presence of Chytrid fungus in Southeast Oklahoma. ...

This past Friday, October 24th, Cameron, Jessa, Elyse, Nick, Alyssa and I took a short trip to Oliver’s Woods to look for herps. The nature area is located at the intersection of Highway 9 and Chautauqua and is owned by the University of Oklahoma. We spent around an hour and a half overturning logs, watching for movement in the fallen leaves, and wandering...

Five members of the Siler Lab (Elyse Freitas, Greg Jongsma, Alyssa Anwar, Tucker Walton, and Rachel Flanagan) attended Oklahoma’s BioBlitz! 2014 at Washita Battlefield National Historic Site, Black Kettle National Grasslands, and the City of Cheyenne Park.  They were joined by a few hundred other members of OU, other universities, and the general public.  Check out more info here. Read a first-hand...

Jessa Watters’ master’s research covered diet, feeding behavior, and activity budgets for two species of spiny lizard, Scleoporis jarrovi (Yarrow’s Spiny Lizard) and Sceloporus virgatus (Striped Plateau Lizard).  Her research was conducted in SE Arizona in the Chiricahua Mountain range, which is a unique high elevation habitat that is surrounded by open desert.  Her research asked the following questions: (1) How do...