From partnering with the Highlands Biological Station to researching ecological communities, battling the altering environmental landscape of the mountains, evaluating traditional Cherokee remedies derived from plants native to the Southern Appalachians, and participating in countless other research projects, WCU’s biology department faculty members have established a long and proud tradition of research focusing on a broad field of study.
Current faculty research projects and fields of interest
Kefyn M. Catley, Ph.D.My research revolves around the difficulties of understanding evolution and how these difficulties interact with peoples' perceptions of the natural world, i.e., how they impact the effectiveness of environmental and ecology education. In particular, I am examining ways to enhance learning in these disciplines across several age groups from middle school students to pre and in-service teachers. My biological research focuses on the systematics and biology of spiders, especially south temperate and basal groups.
Beverly Collins, Ph.D., Plant Community Ecology
My research seeks to unravel the causes of plant community diversity and dynamics. I ask questions such as "How are plant communities put together and what causes them to change over time?" I have studied abandoned agricultural fields in New Jersey and Tennessee; canopy gap dynamics in northern hardwoods of Pennsylvania and bottomland forests of South Carolina; seed bank and water level effects on vegetation of Carolina bays and reservoirs; and the impacts of military and forestry activities on mixed pine hardwood forests at Fort Benning. At WCU, my students and I are studying the ecology of endangered species such as the Carolina northern flying squirrel; plants, like the medicinal plant fairy wand, that are used by humans; and the factors, such as land use, that affect invasiveness of non-native plant species. Results from our research can help us learn how to manage, conserve, or restore plant communities and biodiversity in the Southern Appalachian region.
James T. Costa, Ph.D., Director, Highlands Biological Station
I am primarily interested in the ecology and evolution of social insects, in particular the social Lepidoptera and Symphyta, with a parallel interest in the history and philosophy of social insect biology.
Recent research includes: Trail-marking and foraging behavior of social caterpillars and sawflies, in particular Arsenura armida, a Neotropical saturniid moth we study in Costa Rica, and the North American diprionid sawfly Neodiprion lecontei.
My students and I employ videography, classical experimental techniques, and genetic markers in studies of communication, group foraging dynamics and colony genetic structure. Colony performance experiments using eastern tent caterpillars as a model system to dissect the ecological factors underlying group size effects. Many caterpillar and sawfly colonies enjoy enhanced survivorship and growth as a function of group size, one result of which is that group-merging is favored regardless of genetic relationship between caterpillars of component groups. My students and I are now conducting experiments to document the mechanism, costs and benefits of supercolony formation.
Jeremy Hyman, Ph.D., Evolution, Behavorial Ecology, Ornithology
My research interests are in the evolution of communication and social interactions in territorial animals. Current research topics I am pursuing include the interplay of cooperative and competitive interactions in territorial communication, and the causes and consequences of behavioral variation in territorial aggression in birds.
Thomas H. Martin, PhD., Population and Community Ecology
I am interested in the factors that influence population dynamics and community structure in aquatic systems. Much of my early research focused on the role of predation by vertebrates in littoral invertebrate population dynamics and assemblage structure. More recently, my interests have focused more on habitat availability, quality, and fragmentation as factors that influence aquatic populations.
Current research interests/projects include studies of the distribution, comparative ecology, and conservation of remnant southern Appalachian brook trout populations, the potential for natural recolonization by larval fish of a river recovering from a prolonged history of industrial pollution (Pigeon River), and the potential for development of biomonitoring protocols using meiofauna for mountain streams at risk from sediment pollution.
Kathy Gould Mathews, Ph. D., H. F. and Katherine P. Robinson Professor of Biology
My area of research specialization is plant systematics, which seeks to explain patterns
of diversity in various plant groups. I study problems in the taxonomy and evolutionary
relationships of flowering plant groups, such as members of the gentian and strychnos
families. I focus on southeastern plants; my current research seeks to understand
rapid speciation and biogeography in the coastal plain wetland plant Sabatia (swamp
pink) and the unusual bog plant Bartonia (screwstem), both of the gentian family.
My graduate students are currently studying the systematics of Southern Appalachian
saxifrages (genus Micranthes) and growth characteristics of rivercane (Arundinaria
gigantea). My research tools include morphological analysis and molecular phylogenetics
of DNA sequences. My lab is also involved in an interdisciplinary rivercane research
project for which we are characterizing the clonal diversity and flowering behavior
of rivercane in western North Carolina using molecular markers known as AFLPs (amplified
fragment length polymorphisms). I am interested in supervising undergraduate and graduate
students on projects involving the taxonomy and evolution of Southern Appalachian
flora.
Seán P. O’Connell, Ph.D., Microbial Ecology, Diversity of bacteria and archaea in soils and waters zymurgy
My research centers on the biodiversity of prokaryotes in their natural environments. Included in these studies are the Bacteria and Archaea that inhabit soils and waters of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Particular emphasis is placed on databasing heterotrophic bacterial species occurrences over time from the same locations and in attempting to culture unusual and difficult to grow microorganisms. Undergraduate and graduate students are a vital help in these endeavors.
Joseph Pechmann, Ph.D., Population and Community Ecology, Herpetology, Wetlands Ecology
Conservation ecology of amphibians; implications of complex life cycles and habitat shifts for ecology and conservation; wetland ecology and aquatic-terrestrial interactions; population dynamics, trend analyses, and demography.
Malcolm (Mack) Powell, Ph. D., Elucidating host – pathogen interactions, with a focus on Chagas’ disease
My research interests can be broadly classified as elucidating host/pathogen interactions. Presently, the majority of my efforts are focused on Chagas' disease. This disease is caused by a protozoan hemoflagellate, which is endemic in much of Central and South America where an estimated 16-18 million people are infected and another 90 million are at risk. Recently, we have found strong evidence that tissue tropism of the pathogen may be influenced by host genetics, a characteristic previously attributed the organism itself. If it can be fully substantiated, this phenomenon could be the key to understanding why 30-40% of infected individuals develop life threatening cardiac damage and the remainder do not.
Sabine J. Rundle, Ph.D., Molecular Biology of Plant Development
Research in my laboratory focuses on understanding the role of protein phosphorylation in plant cell metabolism and plant development. Specifically, we are studying the role of the type 2A protein phosphatases in controlling protein phosphorylation. Research in my laboratory uses molecular biological approaches to characterize Arabidopsis protein phosphatases 2A and its regulatory subunits.
Lori Seischab, Ph.D., Molecular Pathology and Biophysics, Southern Appalachian Ethnopharmacology
The common treatments for rheumatoid arthritis (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids, and immunosuppressants) produce negative side effects including gastrointestinal disorders and immunodeficiency. Consequently there is a need for the development of therapeutic agents that can be used for long-term administration. Since inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis are among the most common health problems treated with traditional remedies, these remedies are a promising source of leads for the development of new therapeutics. Our research focuses on the evaluation of traditional Cherokee remedies that are used to treat rheumatism and/or inflammation and are derived from plants native to the Southern Appalachians. In these mechanistic studies we apply the written and oral history of Cherokee medicine, a rich source of practical knowledge of Southern Appalachian plants. This history includes information on how to achieve the optimal desired medicinal activity, including 1) which environments produce plants with the highest activity 2) which parts of the plants to harvest and at what time in their growing cycle 3) how to preserve the plants and 4) how to prepare the medicine without destroying the activity. We are currently studying the anti-proteolytic and anti-oxidant activities in Cherokee remedies. Inflammation is accompanied by leukocyte activation and subsequently the secretion of proteases and the activation of the oxidative burst. The resulting extracellular proteases and the reactive oxygen intermediates can cause extensive tissue damage in diseases of chronic inflammation.
Students are responsible for plant collection and the development of extraction methods followed by chromogenic and fluorogenic assays for protease and anti-oxidant activities.