Natalie Claunch

Christina Romagosa | Post-Docs | Graduate Students | Other Lab Members

Natalie Claunch PhD Candidate

Research Interests

Physiological ecology, invasion ecology, stress, immunology, herpetology

Education

B.S. Zoology, North Carolina State University, 2013

M.S. Biology, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, 2016

About Me

I have been interested in the 'creepy crawlies' and how they function from a very young age. During my undergraduate, I was elected president of the Herpetology Club, and revived the annual spring break research trip to the Florida Everglades. Little did I know I would be back here to work on my Ph.D. During my third semester, I studied abroad at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia, where I learned about local wildlife and also volunteered at the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital. I am lucky to say I was SCUBA certified on the Great Barrier Reef! After graduating summa cum laude from NCSU, I was still interested in pursuing a career in veterinary medicine, and I was fortunate to work with some of the most skilled exotic animal veterinarians at SEAVS in Northern Virginia.

I decided I was more interested in a research career than practicing medicine, so pursued a Master's degree at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, under advisement of Dr. Emily Taylor. In California, I studied the effects of elevated stress hormone levels on venom composition, defensive behavior, movement, thermal ecology and more in a population of wild Southern Pacific rattlesnakes (Crotalus helleri). I was also involved in a suite of studies on oxygen-limited thermal tolerance in various Sceloporus lizards in California and Arizona. In California, I discovered a passion for teaching undergraduate Biology and Herpetology laboratory courses, and helped create new laboratory manuals for two courses, including illustrating dissection guides for these courses. I was honored to receive the Biology Department and University-wide Graduate Student of the Year (2016) award. I am now very excited to be back on the East Coast working on invasive reptiles with Dr. Christina Romagosa!

In my free time, I enjoy exploring nature (hiking, backpacking, herping, birding, SCUBA), practicing wildlife photography, herpetoculture of my motley bunch of adopted reptiles, Biological illustration, sketching, painting and experimenting in the kitchen.

I occasionally tweet and instagram my research efforts and illustrations ( @heart2herp ).

Publications

Claunch N, Moore IT, Waye H, Schoenle L, Oakey S, Reed RN, & Romagosa CM. 2021. Understanding metrics of stress in the context of invasion history: the case of the brown treesnake (Boiga irregularis). Conservation Physiology 9: coab008. https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coab008

Claunch NM, Nix E, Royal AE, Burgos LP, Corn M, DuBois PM, Ivey KN, King E, Rucker KA, Shea TK, Stepanek J, Vansdadia S, & Taylor EN. 2020. Body size impacts critical thermal maximum measurements in lizards. Journal of Experimental Zoology A 335: 96-107. https://doi.org/10.1002/jez.2410

Schonour RB, Huff E, Holding ML, Claunch NM, Ellsworth S, Hogan M, Wray K, McGivern J, Margres M, Colston T, & Rokyta D. 2020. Gradual and discrete ontogenetic shifts in rattlesnake venom composition and assessment of hormonal and ecological correlates. Toxins 12: 659 https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins12100659

Sandfoss, M, Claunch, N, Stacy, N, Romagosa, C, Lillywhite, H. 2020. A tale of two islands: evidence for impaired stress response and altered immune functions in an insular pit viper following ecological disturbance. Conserv. Physiol. 8: coaa031. https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coaa031

Stepanek, J, Claunch, NM, Frazier, JA, Escallon, C, Vernasco, BJ, Moore, IT, and Taylor, EN. 2019. Corticosterone and Color Change in Southern Pacific Rattlesnakes (Crotalus helleri). Herpetologica 75(2): 143- 152. https://doi.org/10.1655/D-18-00008

Claunch, N, Holding, M, Moore, I, Escalon, C, Vernasco, B, and Taylor EN. 2017. Good vibrations: Assessing the stability of snake venom composition after researcher-induced disturbance in the laboratory. Toxicon. 133: 127-135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2017.05.010

Claunch, NM, Frazier, JA, Escallon, C, Vernasco, BJ, Moore, IT, and Taylor, EN. 2017. Physiological and behavioral effects of exogenous corticosterone in a free-ranging ectotherm. General and Comparative Endocriology. 248: 87-96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ygcen.2017.02.008

DuBois, PM, Shea, TK, Claunch, NM, and Taylor EN. 2017. Effects of oxygen on responses to heating in two lizard species along an elevational gradient. Journal of Thermal Biology 68B: 170-176. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2017.02.008

Shea, T, DuBois, M, Claunch, N, Murphey, N, Rucker, K, Brewster, R, and Taylor, E. 2016. Oxygen concentration affects upper thermal tolerance in a terrestrial vertebrate. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology 199: 87-94.

Frazier, T, Claunch N, and Trunzo, J. 2016. BIO 162 Lab manual: Plant and Animal Physiology. Online. PolyLearn. California Polytechnic State University.

Ruttenberg, B, Frazier, J, Claunch, N, Ritter, M, Trunzo, J and Yost, J. 2015. BIO 160 Lab manual: Diversity and history of life. San Luis Obispo, CA: Cal Poly University Store.

Claunch, N and Augustine, L. 2015. Morphological description of Spindly Leg Syndrome (SLS) in Golden Mantella, (Mantella aurantiaca) at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. Journal of Herpetological Medicine and Surgery 25 (3-4): 72-77.

Notes

Thomason, SM, Broxton, JM, Romagosa, CM, Claunch, NM. 2020. Leiocephalus carinatus (Northern Curly-tailed Lizard). Geographic Distribution. Herpetological Review: 51(3): in press

Claunch, NM, Stanley, E, Romagosa, CM. 2020. Leiocephalus carinatus (Northern Curly-tailed Lizard). Extreme Fecal Impaction. Herpetological Review: 51(1): 127.

Broxton, JM, Thomason, SM, Romagosa, CM, Claunch, NM. 2019. Agama picticauda (Peters’ Rock Agama). Geographic Distribution. Herpetological Review 50(4): 745.

Henigan, LE, Blais, CB, Dzikowski, NT, Romagosa, CM, and Claunch, NM. 2019. Agama picticauda (Peters’ Rock Agama). Cannibalism. Herpetological Review 50(1): 132-3.

Dzikowski, NT, Blais, CB, Henigan, LE, Romagosa, CM, and Claunch, NM. 2019. Agama picticauda (Peters’s Rock Agama). Reproduction. Herpetological Review 50(1): 132.

Blais, CB, Henigan, LE, Dzikowski, NT, and Claunch, NM. 2019. Leiocephalus carinatus armouri (Northern Curly-tailed Lizard). Diet. Herpetological Review (2): 374.

Claunch, N, Denton, R, Holding, M, Taylor, E, and Mullin, SJ. 2018. Scaphiopus couchii (Couch’s Spadefoot Toad). Predation. Herpetological Review 49(2): 312-3.

Claunch, N, and Crowe-Riddell, J. 2018. Leiocephalus carinatus (Northern Curly-tailed Lizard). Extreme Fecal Impaction. Herpetological Review 49(1): 118-119.

Claunch, NM and Taylor, EN. 2017. Gambelia wislizenii (Long-nosed leopard lizard). Saurocaudophagy. Herpetological Review :48(1): 190-192.

all illustrations and photographs copyright N Claunch, not to be used or redistributed for any purposes without explicit permission