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C.M. Gienger

Christopher Gienger

Professor

Biology

 

Ph.D., Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, 2009

M.S., Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, 2003

B.S., Biology, Central Washington University, 2000

In addition to being a member of the Center of Excellence for Field Biology, my research involves investigating the diverse ways in which organisms interact with their environment. Most of the work that I do is at the interface between behavioral and physiological ecology. I also serve as the Curator of Herpetology in the David H. Snyder Museum of Zoology (Austin Peay State University). My personal website is http://cmgienger.github.io/ 

Research Methods, Zoological Diversity, Herpetology

Ecology and Conservation Biology, Herpetology, Physiological Ecology, Animal Energetics and Thermal Biology

  • Ciafré, C.M., C.M. Gienger, E.M. Rehm, L.D. Estes. 2022. Deterministic and stochastic factors jointly drive plant community composition and diversity in isolated wetlands. Wetlands 42(7):71.

  • Thiem, L.R. and C.M. Gienger. 2022. Hold on for one more day: Energetic costs of oviductal egg retention in Eastern Musk Turtles (Sternotherus odoratus). Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 95(4):279-287.

  • Moniz, H.A., M.A. Richard, C.M. Gienger, and C.R. Feldman. 2022. Every breath you take: assessing metabolic costs of toxin resistance in garter snakes (Thamnophis). Integrative Zoology 17:567-580.

  • Grady, J.T., L.M. Bower, C.M. Gienger, and R.E. Blanton. 2022. Fish scale shape follows predictable patterns of variation based on water column position and body size. Evolutionary Ecology 36:93-116.

  • Hromada, S.J., M.G. Iacchetta, B.J. Beas, J.P. Flaherty, M.C. Fulbright, K.H. Wild, A.F. Scott, C.M. Gienger. 2021. Low-intensity agriculture shapes amphibian and reptile communities: Insights from a ten-year monitoring study. Herpetologica 77(4):294-306.

  • Flaherty, J.P. and C.M. Gienger. 2020. Habitat selection and movement patterns of Copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix) in fire-altered landscapes. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 15(1)150-159.

  • Spencer, M.M., M. Pierson, and C.M. Gienger. 2020. Comparative energetics and thermal responses to feeding in allied Agkistrodon snakes with contrasting diet and habitat use. Journal of Comparative Physiology B. 190(3):329-339.

  • Mueller, A. and C.M. Gienger. 2019. Comparative thermal ecology of Copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix) and Cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus). Journal of Thermal Biology 79:73-80.

  • Iacchetta, M.G., K.N. Maloney, and C.M. Gienger. 2019. Endocrine stress response of Eastern Fence Lizards in fire-disturbed landscapes. Current Zoology 65(6):643-650.

  • Gienger, C.M., N.A. Dochtermann, and C.R. Tracy. 2019. Detecting trends in body size: Empirical and statistical requirements for intra-specific analyses. Current Zoology 65(5):493-497.

  • Wild, K.H. and C.M. Gienger. 2018. Fire-disturbed landscapes induce phenotypic plasticity in lizard locomotor performance. Journal of Zoology 305(2):96-105.

  • Hromada, S.J., C.A.F. Howey, M.B. Dickinson, R.W. Perry, W.M. Roosenberg, and C.M. Gienger. 2018. Response of reptile and amphibian communities to the reintroduction of fire in an oak/hickory forest. Forest Ecology and Management 428:1-13.

  • Gienger, C.M. and E. Urdiales. 2017. Individual and thermal influences on standard metabolism in Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina). Chelonian Conservation and Biology 16(2):159-163.

  • Gienger, C.M., M.L. Brien, C.R. Tracy, S.C. Manolis, G.J.W. Webb, R.S. Seymour, and K.A. Christian. 2017. Ontogenetic comparisons of standard metabolism in three species of crocodilians. PLoS ONE 12(2):e0171082.

  • Gienger, C.M., C.R. Tracy, and K.A. Nagy. 2014. Life in the lizard slow-lane: Gila monsters have low rates of energy use and water flux. Copeia 2014(2):279-287.

  • Gienger, C.M., C.R. Tracy, and L.C. Zimmerman. 2013. Thermal responses to feeding in a secretive and specialized predator (Gila monster, Heloderma suspectum). Journal of Thermal Biology 38(3):143-147.

  • Gienger, C.M., C.R. Tracy, M.L. Brien, S.C. Manolis, G.J.W. Webb, R.S. Seymour, and K.A. Christian. 2012. Energetic costs of digestion in Australian crocodiles. Australian Journal of Zoology 59(6): 416-421 

  • Gienger, C.M. and D.D. Beck. 2011. Northern Pacific rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus) use thermal and structural cues to choose overwintering hibernacula. Canadian Journal of Zoology 89: 1084-1090.