Student Research
All Allegheny students must complete a Senior Project, which in the Biology Department is a significant body of original independent research. Senior Project research students working under my direction have focused on a variety of problems in animal behavior, ecology, and evolutionary biology, using a wide diversity of animal taxa, including insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Several students have published the results of their Senior Project research in national or international journals.
Senior Research Projects
Full text of Senior Projects from 2010 to the present is available via Pelletier Library's DSpace electronic archive, but access is restricted to viewers with an Allegheny network username and password.
Class of 2023
Joshua Heiser. Assessing acoustic niche partitioning in a temperate forest and scrub bird community.
Trenton Kramer. A genetic comparison of baker’s and brewer’s yeast.
Ryan Martinez. Effects of temperature on the lateral line orientation response in the Mottled Sculpin (Cottus bairdii).
Rachel Olivares. Response of male Red-backed Salamanders to chemical cues of males from nearby and distant populations.
Class of 2022
Amaya R. Jenkins. Do rats go through breakups? Sex differences in behavior and CORT response after cagemate separation and the effects of an Oxytocin treatment.
Class of 2021
Jennifer Clay. Veterinary vaccines and the factors that influence their efficacy: a review.
Gabrielle DeLeon. Acinonyx jubatus reproduction: factors affecting cub mortality and cheetah longevity.
William D. Harrod. Effects of forest edge proximity on hooded warbler nesting success in Northwestern Pennsylvania.
Susan Hill. Sunscreen UV filters in aquatic environments: A review of their properties and effects on aquatic life.
Claire Lignac. The effects of Brown-headed Cowbird nest parasitism on Hooded Warbler reproductive success.
Brooke Smith. Effectiveness of DAP (Dog Appeasing Pheromone) collars on anxiety levels in dogs (Canis lupus familiaris).
Class of 2020
Karissa Coffield. Terrestrial distribution, migration distance, and timing of spring migration in Spotted Salamanders.
Alaina Duessel. Variation in platinum-group metal loads in Pennsylvania raptors: the role of diet and habitat.
Class of 2019
Natali Salaytah. The interaction of sex and oxytocin on social instability stress in Sprague-Dawley rats.
Alexandra Zelazny. Kin selection in Drosophila melanogaster and the effect of familial relationship on female reproduction.
Class of 2018
Selena Clark. Cross-modal human gender discrimination by domestic dogs (Canis familiaris).
Alexandra Doran. Fruit size in flowering dogwood (Cornus florida): effects on avian frugivory and seed dispersal.
Lauren Durant. Preferential mate choice in Plethodon cinereus based on among-population variation in chemical cues.
Olivia Mamula. Effects of LCD light exposure during the dark phase on learning and memory in mice.
Chelsea Pearson. The effect of dog appeasing pheromone combined with exercise on anxiety levels of dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) boarded at kennels.
Lee Ann Streshenkoff. Raptor stress profiles in a Northwestern Pennsylvania wildlife center: hormone analysis, leukocyte counts and behavioral observations
Paul Sutkowski. Epigenetic inheritance of temperature-induced variation in tail lengths in mice.
Kathryn Wehrer. The impact of temperature on rates of cannibalism in Ambystoma mexicanum.
Amanda Wildt. The effects of photoperiod on behavior in Rana clamitans tadpoles.
Harper Zimmer. The effects of social partners on behavioral and physiological stress in a novel environment: do domestic chicks (Gallus gallus domesticus) form strong social attachments?
Class of 2017
Tara Afjeh. Sexual behavior of male guppies (Poecilia reticulata) in response to the glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup.
Margaret Clarke. Are anxiety and depression in offspring caused by an induced immune response in mothers during pregnancy?
Hunegaw Micheal. Effects of metanotal gland feeding on male-male fighting outcomes in black-horned tree crickets (Oecanthus nigricornis).
Madison Yemc. The effect of the herbicide Roundup on female mate choice in guppies (Poecilia reticulata).
Class of 2016
Jessica Bryan. The effects of voluntary exposure to an enriched environment on olfactory function in Alzheimer’s Bace1 mice models.
Michaela Cowden. Does inducing an Immune response in mothers during pregnancy cause anxiety and depression in offspring?
Emilio DeJesus. Changes in anti-predatory behavior after corticosterone treatment in Rana clamitans tadpoles.
Krista Derdowski. The effect of music tempo on spatial learning and memory in developing mice.
Megan Gooding. The effects of reproduction and estradiol on olfactory function in female Alzheimer’s model mice.
Paula McCorkle. Predator aversion and foraging intensity in Poecilia reticulata: A test of the risk allocation hypothesis.
Noah McNeill. Grassland bird conservation in agricultural hayfields.
Michelle Raduluff. Intensity of amphibian anti-predator responses from conspecific and heterospecific disturbance signals.
Carson Rey. Does cognitive reserve and environmental enrichment ameliorate disease progression in Huntington's disease R6/2 male mice?
Morgan Vrana. The use of enrichment to suppress potential stereotypical behaviors exhibited in zebra sharks (Stegostoma fasciatum): a longitudinal study.
Class of 2015
Anna Nguyen. Effects of atrazine and glyphosate on reproduction of ring-legged earwigs, Euborellia annulipes.
Ethan Radovich. Reconstructing the warbler phylogenetic tree, and analysis of tail spots and rictal bristles in relation to feeding habits.
Thomas Richter. Natural and sexual selection on male genital morphology in the red fire guppy: female choice and swimming performance.
Rebecca Skwarko. Sexual selection for coloration of male guppies (Poecilia reticulata): A comparison between animated and live presentation stimuli.
Class of 2014
(On sabbatical spring 2014: no senior research students).
Class of 2013
Stephanie Fort. The effect of human indicator gender on performance of dogs in an object choice task.
James Kim. Effects of hard and soft water on behavioral performance and food consumption in mice.
Lauren Nord. A novel dual-gender Wistar rat model for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
Kelsey Raver. The effects of vibrissa removal on detection of predatory odor in mice.
Elissa Weyant. Territoriality effects on the dear enemy phenomenon in Anolis carolinensis, the green anole.
Class of 2012
Taylor Hawkins. Pesticide effects on swimming speed of northern green frog (Rana clamitans melanota) tadpoles.
Daniel S. Jacobs. The effect of distance from forest and fruit quality on avian frugivory of flowering dogwood (Cornus florida).
Leonel Leon. The effects of kinship and food deprivation on cannibalism in the ring-legged earwig (Euborellia annulipes).
Tracy-Ann L. Walters. The lethal impact of Roundup Weed and Grass Killer on Xenopus laevis amphibians at different developmental stages.
Class of 2011
Alexandra M. Andoga. Effects of familiar and unfamiliar demonstrators on observer’s diet preference in rats, Rattus norvegicus.
Rachelle N. Barrett. The effect of short-term nutritional intake on the reproduction of male black-horned tree crickets, Oecanthus nigricornis.
Donald J. Consla. The effects of mobbing calls on North American raptors (Abstract).
Lara A. Fleckenstein. Prenatal chemosensory learning in the wild-type laboratory mouse, Mus musculus.
Nam K. Hoang. Effects of social housing on hepatoma and liver health in mice.
Rhianna C. Hughes. Effects of sex and background noise on acoustic characteristics of barred owl (Strix varia) calls.
Courtney A. Klein. A test of the good genes hypothesis for female mating preferences in the American yoad, Bufo americanus.
Dorothy Pyrdek. The effect of environmental enrichment on growth and corticosterone response to acute isolation stress in the domestic chick, Gallus gallus domesticus.
Patrick O. Sample. The effects of nutrient availability on male mating behaviors in the Black-horned Tree Cricket Oecanthus nigricornis.
Kasey M. Schaef. Effects of predator vocalizations on nesting hooded warblers, Wilsonia citrina.
Melissa A. Shaw. Learning and forgetting of homing cues in juvenile convict cichlid fish Amatitlania siquia.
Samantha N. Spiegel. Performance of dogs on an object-choice task: familiar owners versus unfamiliar demonstrator.
Trevor R. M. York. Do avian chemical cues alter the anti-predator responses of frog tadpoles?
Class of 2010
Kathryne A. de Leon. The response of foraging eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus) to alarm calls of the black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus).
Alyssa V. Edwards. The effects of body size on perceived predation risk in green frog tadpoles (Rana clamitans).
Kristen A. Gehrlein. Female eavesdropping on male-male competition and its effect on mating behaviors of earwigs, Euborellia annulipes.
Minja Gosto. Effects of kinship and familiarity on response of Bufo americanus tadpoles to conspecific skin extracts.
Emily A. Kiernan. Aposematic coloration and noxiousness in beetles: has warning coloration evolved through individual selection?
Kelsey L. Mitchell. Discrimination between phylogenetic relatedness between predators: the antipredator behavior of freshwater snails.
James J. Muraco. Effects of diet quality on social learning abilities in sailfin mollies, Poecilia latipinna.
Peter R. Ondish. Does familiarity affect mutual social buffering in Sprague-Dawley rats under a novel environmental stressor?
Lindsay A. O’Reilly. The combined effect of social stimulus and environmental complexity on female mate choice in Xiphophorus helleri.
Alexander P. Rowland. Influence of nest familiarity and mother presence on the aggregation response of ring-legged earwig (Euborellia annulipes) nymphs.
Monica C. Schaffer. The effect of valproic acid on social learning of food preference in Sprague-Dawley rats, Rattus norvegicus.
Emilie A. Simone. The many scents of predatory fear: predator odor discrimination in female Sprague-Dawley rats.
Class of 2009
(On sabbatic leave spring 2009: no senior research students).
Class of 2008
Michelle N. Balas. Effects of nestling age, brood size, and brood parasitism on parental care in Canada Warblers (Wilsonia canadensis).
Alison M. Berkebile. The effects of territory ownership on dominance status of male green anoles (Anolis carolinensis).
Andrew M. Fleming. Heterospecific attraction to Black-capped Chickadee mobbing calls: the role of call structure.
Michaelene M. Gates. The effect of body size and female familiarity on male mate preference of Anolis carolinensis.
Stephanie A. Izurieta. The effect of dominance on the learning ability of the domestic chick, Gallus gallus domesticus.
Nick A. Jones. Aposematic signaling versus a pre-existing color preference in the guppy, Poecilia reticulata.
Ryan M. Larkin. The effects of varying water level and temperature on survival and growth rate of Rana sylvatica tadpoles.
Michael McKay. Experience and memory used by praying mantids (Tenodera sinensis) in learning aversion to aposematically colored prey.
Carolyn M. Nairn. The effects of age, mass, and relative size on begging behavior in Canada warbler (Wilsonia canadensis) nestlings as an indicator of honest signaling and parent-offspring conflict.
Allison L. Whitermore. Effects of sodium chloride and egg mass position on hatching success and early development in Rana sylvatica.
Kirsten M. Williams. Consumption of Cornus amomum (Silky dogwood) fruit by migratory and resident birds.
Class of 2007
Kathryn A. Bregant. The effect of maternal care in multi-parent and single-parent units on neophobia in Zucker rats.
Michael A. Eskay. Effects of ultraviolet light filtering on web stabilimenta and related foraging success in the orb-weaving spider, Argiope aurantia.
Jessica M. Fletemeyer. Familiarity and scent marking in Rattus norvegicus.
Kristen C. Krisulevicz. Predator-induced plasticity in wood frog tadpoles, Rana sylvatica: The effects of Anax junius predator density over various tadpole ontogenetic stages.
Margaret M. Macneil. The effect of density on aggression and cannibalism in Ambystoma mexicanum larvae.
Megan W. McConnell. The effect of carbaryl on behavior and response to conspecific alarm signals in green frog tadpoles, Rana clamitans.
Kelly T. Peretich. Effects of parental care on growth and survival of young in the convict cichlid, Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum.
Maria C. Pyrdek. Kin recognition via chemical signaling in juvenile convict cichlid (Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum).
Class of 2006
Jon P. Davis. In vitro analysis of antimicrobial activity of secondary plant compounds on the rumen flora of cattle.
Melissa A. Faulkner. Behavioral and fitness effects of male sexual harassment on female western mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis.
Tiffany M. Firko. The effects of early occlusion experience on spatial navigation of chicks while under predation.
Emilie N. Gilbreath. The effect of sulfur-containing amino acids on cognitive performance in young female rats.
Jessica M. Henriquez. Sexual motivation, aggressive behavior and parental roles in the monogamous convict cichlid, Archocentrus nigrofasciatum.
Jessica Johnson. A test of the differential allocation hypothesis using convict cichlids, Archocentrus nigrofasciatum.
Sarah E. Kuhn. The effects of kin recognition on inbreeding avoidance in Zucker rats.
David A. Roberts. The effect of predation threat and kinship on growth and metamorphosis of Bufo americanus tadpoles.
Elizabeth A. Van Parys. Conspecific chemical cues and antipredator behavior of red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus): Effect of familiarity.
Jodie M. White. The effect of gravidity on the anti-predator behavior and the swimming behavior of the guppy (Poecilia reticulata).
Class of 2005
Moya L. Carrier. Risk assessment of red-spotted newts, Notophthalmus viridescens, exposed to injured conspecifics.
W. Douglas Chrisner. The prisoner’s dilemma and cooperation in the rat: effects of a change in the payoff matrix.
Laura E. Hall. The effects of temperature, food deprivation, and feed regularity on food hoarding in Rattus norvegicus.
Lori A. Lester. Antipredator behavior of adult convict cichlids, Archocentrus nigrofasciatus, in response to conspecific alarm signals: effects of sex and water turbidity.
Megan L. Nable. The influence of maternal saliva labels on food preferences of Zucker rats.
Jennifer L. Sexton. Sexual behavior in the black-horned tree cricket Oecanthus nigricornis: to mimic or not to mimic?
Abigail M. Wilson. The effect of fasting periods on the growth and development of the corn snake (Elaphe guttata guttata).
Class of 2004
Nicole L. Ballon. Modification of fear in domestic chicks, Gallus gallus domesticus, through the use of a familiar odorant and visual cue.
Rhianna J. Carlson. The importance of predator chemical cues on anti-predator behavior in the crayfish, Orconectes obscurus.
Mark L. Galatowitsch. Homopteran escape behavior in response to a flush-pursuit predator: the importance of primary defenses.
Jennifer L. Mitcheltree. Strength of an aversive stimulus enhances social learning in domestic chicks.
Megan J. Natali. Do pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats avoid potentially toxic foods?
Kerri A. Nigito. Anti-predator responses to chemical and visual cues of predators and non-predators in the green anole (Anolis carolinensis).
Marieke H. Rosenbaum. Effects of mixed species shoaling and familiarity on the transmission of social information: heterospecific social learning in the guppy.
Katelyn E. Stroup. Food aversions during early pregnancy in rats: A test of the fetal protection hypothesis.
Class of 2003
Nathan R. Irwin. The effects of food supplementation on Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) offspring growth and survival.
Jason C. Landry. The role of second antennae in development of social hierarchies in the American lobster (Homarus americanus).
Brock J. Renkas. Natural and artificial food sources for fall- and spring-run Oncorhynchus mykiss in Pennsylvanian Lake Erie tributaries.
Jill L. Atherton. The functional response of larval Ambystoma tigrinum and its potential role in the development of the cannibal morph.
Meloni J. DiPietro. Role of kinship and familiarity in recognition of conspecifics and heterospecifics by American toad (Bufo americanus) tadpoles.
Keith E. Fischer. Effects of UV-B radiation and the fungal pathogen Saprolegnia ferax on larval survival in the green frog (Rana clamitans).
Daniel D. Homans. Predator recognition training in brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis): can multiple conditioning trials produce an antipredator response to brown trout (Salmo trutta) odor?
Melissa M. Moran. Effects of social history on assessment of resource holding potential and dominance in convict cichlids (Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum).
Helen L. Overmoyer. The relationship between endoparasite load and plumage darkness in the Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis).
Class of 2001
Jennifer J. Frietsch. Egg production of female ring-legged earwigs, Euborellia annulipes, mated to successful and unsuccessful males: a test of the Differential Allocation Hypothesis.
Tammy M. Jolly. The estrogenic effects of soy on developing rats.
Corey C. Rieger. Habitat preference of predatory leeches following changes in prey availability: the relative values of security over nutrition.
Briana D. Smrekar. The effects of varying degrees of cover and visibility at feeding sites: a test with the Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus).
Class of 2000 (Abstract only)
(On sabbatic leave spring 2000: no senior research students).
Class of 1999
Jonathan A. Gallie. The role of experience in chemosensory recognition of predators by tadpoles of the American toad (Bufo americanus).
Jessica S. Hampton. The development of the alarm call in hand-reared Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus).
Darren P. Milligan. Self assessment in fighting behavior in the male firemouth cichlid (Cichlasoma meeki).
Gerald T. Pecora. Interspecific recognition of Tufted Titmouse (Baelophus bicolor) alarm calls and use of false alarm calls by members of its mixed-species flock.
Lauren P. Sims. Do the brighter members of a school attract others to them?
Michelle K. Surrena. Mate selection based on mate size vs. mate resources in the convict cichlid Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum.
Samantha L. Witchell. Intraspecific competition and territoriality in the Mountain Dusky Salamander, Desmognathus ochrophaeus.
Class of 1998
Patrick F. Capozzi. The functional significance of the mobbing call and fear scream of the Tufted Titmice (Baelophus bicolor).
Aaron N. Cassisi. The effects of pyrazines on aversions to aposematic color patterns.
Hazen Hornyak. The effects of chemical and visual cues on the fright response of fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) to a predation event.
Meredith Houle. The effects of predation, protective cover,and dominance on social foraging in Dark-eyed Juncos, Junco hyemalis.
Jeanne Kondrich. The effects of intrauterine position on parental care in the female rat.
Julia Leach. Conditioned taste aversion: the effects of prey type and generalization.
Laura Monseau. A study of the alarm response behavior in kin-discriminating tadpoles (Bufo americanus).
Noah Gregory Shuart. The survival of fetal septo-hippocampal dissociated grafts in the denervated rat hippocampus and effects on spatial behavior.
Mike Straiko. The energetic equivalence of the benefit of refuge for foraging guppies under risk of predation.
Arwen Vermeulen. Foraging posture preference and shoal size in the guppy, Poecilia reticulata.