Students
Current Graduate Students
Studying the effects of hormonal treatment, castration, and inhibition on
pheromone production and composition in both sexes of the red-sided garter snake, with special focus on the structure of the skin and intersexual differences therein.
Examining several aspects of sexual conflict within the garter snake system, from patterns of multiple paternity to mechanisms of sperm storage and competition, with special focus on the metabolic costs of courtship and mating.
Studying the binding proteins produced by the Harderian gland that chaperone the pheromone through the aqueous environment which bathes the VNO epithelium, with emphasis on protein sequencing and structural homology to known pheromone binding proteins.
Studying the differences in pheromone composition mediating sexual isolation between several garter snake species, both in sympatry and allopatry, with emphasis on biochemical isolation of the pheromones, behavioral assays and pheromone characterization.
Current Undergraduate Students
Ben Burke: work study who is in charge of the general maintenance of our 500+ snakes (feeding, watering, cleaning) as well as being our general savior when it comes to taking care of the lab!
Anna Vigeland: Honors student working with Rocky Parker and Emily Uhrig to understand the role that temperature and shedding play in pheromone production in female red-sided garter snakes who is currently helping Rocky process pheromone samples from a large study on the role of aromatase in pheromone production
Mattie Squire: undergraduate volunteer assisting Chris Friesen with PCR preparation of DNA samples from parents and offspring in several multiple paternity studies. She is also helping with sperm mobility assays and care of gravid females and their offspring in the lab.
Dolly Do: volunteer who learned how to isolate and dissect out the VNO epithelium from garter snakes and then process this sensory tissue for its use in the IP3 assay and is now working with Chris Friesen on sperm mobility assays
Kata Haeberlin: volunteer who is helping with the general maintenance of the snakes, assisting Rocky Parker with the collection and processing of blood samples from experimental animals and quantifying sperm mobility for Chris Friesen's dissertation work
Christina Lackey: previous URISC/HHMI student who has continued to study the regeneration of the Harderian gland using both behavioral assays and histology
Previous Post-doctoral Students
Suzanne Estes:
Dr. Estes worked with both Dr. Mason and Dr. Arnold to study interpopulation genetic variation in the red-sided garter snake.
estess@pdx.edu
Previous Graduate Students
Mitchel T. Smith (M.S., 1994):
The role of Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone in the regulation of courtship behavior in
the male red-sided garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis.
Michael J. Greene (Ph.D., 1998):
Pheromonal mediation of reproductive behavior in the Brown Tree Snake.
michael.greene@cudenver.edu
Darren T. Lerner (M.S., 1998):
The ontogeny and mediation of sexual size dimorphism of the red-spotted garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis concinnus.
dlerner@forwild.umass.edu
Ignacio T. Moore (Ph.D., 1999):
Stress and reproduction in male garter snakes.
itmoore@vt.edu
Michael P. LeMaster (Ph.D., 2001):
Phenotypic variation in the sexual attractiveness pheromone of the red-sided garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis.
lemastm@wou.edu
Ryan O'Donnell (M.S., 2004):
Behavioral adaptations and the minimization of reproductive costs in the male red-sided garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis.*
tsirtalis@hotmail.com
Deborah I. Lutterschmidt (Ph.D., 2006):
Chronobiology of garter snakes: environmental and hormonal mechanisms mediating hibernation and reproduction.*
Psydil@langate.gsu.edu
Heather Waye (Ph.D., 2007):
Reproductive biology and behavior of the brown tree snake (Boiga
irregularis) on Guam.*
wayex001@morris.umn.edu
Previous Undergraduate Students
Arianne Cease (B.S. 2004, OSU):
HHMI student who worked with Dr. Deb Lutterschmidt on the stress responses of garter snakes when they disperse following the spring breeding season
Sten Erickson (B.S. with Honors, 2007, OSU):
HHMI/URISC student who examined basic aspects to the structure of the Harderian gland in garter snakes for his thesis:
Sexual dimorphism and seasonal changes in the Harderian gland of the red-sided garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis*
Andy Fraser (B.S., 2009, OSU):
HHMI student who studied the effects of unilateral and bilateral Harderianectomy on the trailing behavior of male garter snakes
Robert Cressman (B.S., 2008, OSU):
Work study student who continued on to conduct experiments on the habitat preferences of garter snakes during hibernation and also did chemical ecology experiments with a surrogate snake model, kingsnakes (Lampropeltis gettula), for the endangered indigo snake (Drymarchon corais)
Dan Preston (B.S. with Honors, 2008, OSU):
HHMI student who studied different aspects to anesthesia in the garter snakes for his thesis:
Sources of variability in duration of anesthesia with brevital sodium in snakes*
Emily Uhrig (B.S., 2008, WOU):
HHMI student from Western Oregon University who, in collaboration with Dr. Mason at OSU and Dr. Michael LeMaster at Western Oregon University, described interspecific differences of pheromone composition in the red-sided garter snake
Amelia Kerns (B.S. with Honors, 2008, OSU):
HHMI/URISC student who, working with Chris Friesen, used genetic techniques to study issues of sexual conflict in the garter snake system:
Sperm depletion and sperm competition in the red-sided garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis*
Kaylie Stowell:
Volunteer who worked with Chris Friesen to analyze video footage of metabolic cost of courtship trials to assess time budgeting
Emi Ikeda:
Work study student who managed our website and trained the grad students in all-things-HTML
David Chin (B.S., 2010, OSU):
URISC student who examined IP3 production by the VNO epithelium of male garter snakes and perfected a method for isolating Harderian gland secretions from the ducts of the VNO
King Yabut:
HHMI student who examined the regeneration of the Harderian gland, with special emphasis on the relationship between the gland's secretions (protein content) and feeding response over the course of regenration