Graduate Students Trained by Division of Mammals Curators

Please help us update our list of MSB alumni. We are particularly interested in tracking the many undergraduate students who have spent time in the MSB collections or participated in our field expeditions throughout the world. If you know of someone who isn’t on our list let us know or let them know about us and we’ll add them.

Jim Findley’s Ph.D. Students

Andersen, Kenneth W. Ph.D., University of New Mexico, 1973. Ken’s dissertation involved a comparative study of renal efficiencies of Peromyscus from the Sandia Mountains of New Mexico. He was hired by Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania and later became Chair of the Department of Biology. Ken’s research activities included monitoring the activity of bats in Pennsylvania using ultrasonic detectors and investigating the ecology of bats on Andros and San Salvador islands in the Bahamas. Ken and his students made yearly pilgrimages to study ecology at the Bahamian Field Station.

Bandoli, James H. Ph.D., University of New Mexico 1983. Jim worked with pocket gophers at UNM where his doctoral research addressed geographical variation and maintenance of secondary sexual size dimorphism. He joined the faculty at the University of Southern Indiana in 1982 where he taught ecology, evolution, comparative anatomy, animal behavior, and vertebrate biology. His research interests centered on habitat requirements and mating strategies of spot-tail darters, a state endangered species of percid fish.

Black, Hal Ph.D., University of New Mexico 1972. Hal’s doctoral dissertation explored food habits of a diverse community of insectivorous bats in the Southwest. After graduation, Hal went to the University of Zambia for two years and studied various African mammals. He returned to a position at Brigham Young University in 1975 where he became a Professor of Zoology and taught mammalogy, vertebrate zoology, and nature appreciation. He also regularly studied at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, where his research focused on the ecology of the large tropical ant, Paraponera clavata. Other research focused on the ecology of non-native Hawaiian ants and the behavioral ecology of black bears.

Bogan, Michael Ph.D., University of New Mexico 1973. At UNM, Mike studied geographic variation in Myotis californicus. After receiving his doctorate, Mike went to work for the Fish and Wildlife Survey at the National Museum of Natural History. He then was stationed at Fort Collins, before finishing his USGS career at the University of New Mexico. While occupying a variety of positions throughout his career, Mike recently retired as Curator of the Biological Service Collections housed in the Museum of Southwestern Biology. Mike’s research interests center on questions of systematics, distribution, and zoogeography.

Britt, Gwendolyn Ph.D., University of New Mexico, 1972. Gwen, who now goes by her middle name Tracy, conducted population studies of Perognathus flavus and Dipodomys ordii on a grassland mesa outside of Albuquerque. She returned to teaching at an all-Indian secondary school and has since retired.

Caire, William Ph.D., University of New Mexico, 1978. His dissertation dealt with the distribution and zoogeography of mammals of Sonora, Mexico. Before completing his doctorate, Bill was hired by the University of Central Oklahoma and is a Professor of Biology and Assistant Dean of the College of Mathematics and Science. He and his students have been involved in a wide variety of research projects including mammalian distributions, bat fly behavior, cactus proteins, distribution and construction of home ranges, hemoglobin electrophoresis, and ion concentration changes in the urine of hibernating Myotis velifer.

Cully, Jack F., Jr. B.S. University of New Mexico, M.S., University of New Mexico, 1972; Ph.D., University of New Mexico, 1984. Buck’s doctoral subject dealt with habitat relationships among rodents in the San Juan Basin or northwestern New Mexico. Following graduation, Buck continued his association with UNM as an Assistant Professor of Research and began studies of social behavior and population ecology of Gunnison’s prairie dog in northern New Mexico. In 1991, Buck went to work for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Endangered Species Program; three years later he moved to Kansas State University where he worked for the USGS Cooperative Research Unit.

Drueker, Jay D. University of New Mexico, 1966; Ph.D., University of New Mexico 1972. For his master’s research, Jay studied the distribution and ecology of bats in southwestern New Mexico. His dissertation dealt with the reproductive biology of Lasiurus cinereus, Myotis volans, and Lasionycteris noctivagans. In 1968 Jay joined the faculty at Chadron State College in Nebraska and was a Professor in the Department of Biology. Jay was a major contributor in the development and implementation of the Rural Health Opportunities Program. Jay also established a similar program with the Health Sciences Center at Creighton University. As part of these activities, he also established a Health Professions Office at his college.

Fleharty, E.D. M.S. University of New Mexico 1958; Ph.D., University of New Mexico 1963. For his master’s research Gene studied the distribution and variation in chipmunks of the Eutamias quadrivittatus group in New Mexico. His dissertation dealt with the comparative biology of three species of New Mexican garter snakes. He joined Fort Hays State University in 1962 and studied the distribution, ecology and population dynamics of small mammals in Western Kansas. He served as Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences for eleven years (1979-90) and was the recipient of the President’s Scholar Award in 1991.

Freeman, Patricia W. Ph.D., University of New Mexico, 1977. Trish was particularly interested in functional morphology and morphometrics, and she used multivariate techniques to examine molossid bats for her dissertation. Trish was hired in 1977 by the Field Museum of Natural History where she was Assistant Curator and Head of the Division of Mammals. In 1981 Trish became Curator of Zoology at the University of Nebraska State Museum in Lincoln where she is Curator and Associate Professor. Trish studies feeding mechanisms in bats. Past research included collaborative works with spouse Cliff Lemen in community ecology, macroevolution and development of a method to track mammals with fluorescent pigments.

Gannon, William L. Ph.D. University of New Mexico, 1997. Bill joined the University of New Mexico in 1986 as Collections Manager in the Division of Mammals at the Museum of Southwestern Biology. Bill then pursued his doctorate and studied character displacement in two species of Myotis, using evidence from ecomorphology and sonic analysis with James H. Brown as co-chair of Bill’s doctoral committee. Today, Bill is Director of the Research Ethics Program in the Graduate School at UNM.

Geluso, Kenneth Ph.D., University of New Mexico, 1972. His dissertation involved an ecophysiological study dealing with renal form and function in insectivorous bats. In 1973, Ken began studies on the effects of pesticides on Tadarida brasiliensis at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. This research was done with Scott Altenbach and Don Wilson and was sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service. Ken still regularly visits the park and is currently working on the Mammals of Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Hired in 1977, Ken retired from the Biology Department at the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 2011 and now resides in Albuquerque.

Gennaro, Anthony Ph.D. University of New Mexico 1966. Tony studied geographic variation of Sigmodon hispidus in New Mexico for his thesis and investigated factors influencing the northern limits of four desert rodents in the Rio Grande Valley for his dissertation. In 1966 he joined the faculty of the Eastern New Mexico University and retired as Professor of Biology, and Director of the Natural History Museum. Tony served as Chair of the Department of Biology from 1983-90 and was instrumental in establishing the B.S. degrees in Wildlife and Fishery Science, the Natural History Museum & Exhibit, and the university’s Grassland Preserve.

Graham, Gary L. Ph.D., University of New Mexico, 1986. Gary’s doctoral research investigated the use of diurnal roosts by Peruvian bats. During his graduate years, Gary also was interested in conservation and conducted research in this area for The Nature Conservancy and Conservation International. He coordinated the tax check-off for the wildlife program in New Mexico for two years before moving to Texas to become Associate Science Director for Bat Conservation International. While at BCI, Gary coordinated a successful effort to protect eight species of flying foxes under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. He also organized a conference on Pacific Island flying foxes to assist land-use managers in bat conservation. In 1991, Gary worked for Defenders of Wildlife to coordinate the Texas Watchable Wildlife Program and the Texas Wildlife Viewing Guide. Gary was Chief of Endangered Resources for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department where he promoted work on neotropical, migratory songbirds and ecological challenges posed by the North American Free Trade Agreement. He later worked for Audubon in Colorado and now heads a environmental organization monitoring energy development.

Hafner, David, J. Ph.D. University of New Mexico, 1981. Dave’s dissertation detailed the evolution and historical zoogeography of Ammospermophilus relative to the development of North American deserts. His research has focused on late Pleistocene historical zoogeography of western North America, using genetic analyses of disjunct mammalian populations to determine relationships. In 1983, Dave was hired as Curator of Zoology at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and was immersed in the planning, construction, and development of the new museum, which opened in 1986. While serving as Chair of the Science Department, Dave conducted NSF-sponsored research on North American Ochotona from New Mexico to Alaska, studied pocket gophers in New Mexico and Central America, and led public trips to Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands. As Chief Curator of the Museum, Dave conducted studies on the mammals of the Baja California Peninsula and adjacent islands. Dave retired from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science and now lives in Michigan. He remains an active museum affiliate of the MSB Mammal Division.

Harris, Arthur H. B.S. University of New Mexico 1958; M.S., University of New Mexico 1959; Ph.D., University of New Mexico 1965. Art’s master’s thesis established much of the framework for the Mammals of New Mexico, published by the University of New Mexico Press 1975. His dissertation was primarily a biogeographic/systematic study on the origin of mammalian faunas in the modern grasslands of the San Juan Basin. He spent two years teaching at Fort Hays Kansas State College while finishing his dissertation and then moved to Texas Western College (now the University of Texas at El Paso) in 1965. At UTEP, Art recently retired as a Professor of Biological Sciences. He also served as Curator of Higher Vertebrates and Curator of Paleobiology within the Laboratory for Environmental Biology, an arm of the El Paso Centennial Museum. Most of Art’s research in recent years has dealt with the ecology and biogeography of vertebrate fossil faunas of the Southwest.

Jones, Clyde M.S. University of New Mexico 1960; Ph.D., University of New Mexico. For his master’s thesis Clyde studied variation and distribution of Microtus mexicanus in New Mexico and adjacent areas. His dissertation involved studies of distribution, ecology and activity periods of bats of the Mogollon Mountains area of New Mexico and adjacent Arizona. After completing his doctorate, Clyde taught at Tulane University for five years during which time he conducted field studies of primates, bats and other mammals in Rio Muni, West Africa. In 1970 he joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Biological Survey Unit housed at the National Museum of Natural History. He served as Chief of the Mammal Section from 1970-73, Director of the National Fish and Wildlife Laboratory from 1973-79, and Director of the Denver Wildlife Research Center from 1979-82. Since 1982 he has been associated with Texas Tech University where he served as Director of the Museum from 1982-85 and Chair of the Department of Museum Science from 1982 - 1987. Clyde is retired and lives in Lubbock and has long been a strong supporter of MSB Mammals.

Mehlhop, Patricia Ph.D., University of New Mexico, 1981. Pat’s research for her master’s degree dealt with ecological parasitology and was done under the supervision of Leo A. Jachowski. After receiving this degree she worked in the mammal collection at the United State National Museum and helped Clyde Jones and Don Wilson prepare maps for the Mammals of New Mexico. Pat then accepted a position at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and conducted ecological studies with James F. Lynch on rodents, birds, and insects in the floodplain forests of Chesapeake Bay. During this time, she also accompanied Clyde Jones on survey trips to southwestern New Mexico and decided to turn her attention to graduate studies in desert ecology. For her dissertation, Pat studied foraging ecology in seed-harvesting ants. She then returned to the Smithsonian Institution as a postdoctoral fellow and continued studies in ant ecology. Pat also worked for the Nature Conservancy, studying rare and declining species and she established the New Mexico Natural Heritage Program (a Special Program in the MSB). She now resides in New Mexico.

Mortensen, B. Kim Ph.D. University of New Mexico, 1977. His doctoral topic involved an analysis of morphology as a predictor of feeding and foraging strategies of leaf-nosed bats. Kim did much of his doctoral research while stationed at the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History where he also worked for Charles O. Handley and helped to computerize data on the mammals of Venezuela and assisted in field studies of primates in Guyana and cave-dwelling bats in Hispaniola. In 1978, Kim became associated with the University of Arizona where he conducted a variety of studies for the National Park Service and National Science Foundation. For the NPS, he conducted vegetative inventories for Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Grand Canyon National Park, and Saguaro National Monument. Kim also worked in environmental epidemiology and toxicology. He began in the M.P.H. Program in Epidemiology at Emory University and later worked at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. Eventually he assumed a position as Chief, Bureau of Epidemiology and Toxicology, Ohio State Health Department.

Petersen, Karen E.M.S. University of New Mexico, 1977; Ph.D., University of New Mexico, 1983. Karen’s thesis involved a morphological, behavioral, and ecological study of Sigmodon hispidus and S. fulviventer in the Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico. For her doctoral research, she tested for patterns in community morphologies in selected guilds of mammals, by comparing morphological distances from sampled communities with those from randomly generated communities. In 1990, she moved to Seattle, Washington where she currently teaches comparative vertebrate anatomy and human physiology in the Department of Zoology at the University of Washington.

Scheibe, John S. Ph.D., University of New Mexico, 1982. At the University of New Mexico, he satisfied his growing interest in reptiles by studying lizards under the guidance of Jim Findley. For his doctoral work, he attempted to identify biotic and abiotic parameters associated with patterns of species diversity in lizard communities. John joined the faculty at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau in 1983, where he is a Professor of Biology at this institution and teaches experimental design, mammalogy, herpetology, and ecological modeling. John’s current research projects include effects of chaos and history on expected patterns of structure in lizard communities, niche dynamics in Peromyscus leucopus and Glaucomys volans, and the evolution of gliding locomotion in sciurids, anomalurids, petaurids, and burramyids.

Schum, G. Michael B.S. University of New Mexico, 1971; M.S. University of New Mexico 1972; Ph.D. University of New Mexico, 1975. For his master’s thesis, Mike studied vocalizations and echolocating sounds of Nyctinomops macrotis at a nursery colony near Los Lunas. His doctoral research involved a multivariate morphometric study of phonetic packing in assemblages of North American bat faunas. Mike joined the Department of Biology at San Diego State University where he served as an Assistant Professor of Biology from 1979-85. After working as an independent computer consultant, Mike was hired by the California Environmental Protection Agency and was an environmental toxicologist in the Ecological and Human Risk Section of the Department of Toxic Substances Control. In this capacity, Mike acts as a computer specialist involved in modeling the movement of toxic chemicals through the environment. Mike was actively involved in a research project sponsored by the NIH on the effects of age and body size on particle deposition in the lung. This project is being conducted at the Air Pollution Health Effects Laboratory at the University of California-Irvine.

Smartt, Richard A. Ph.D., University of New Mexico, 1976. For his dissertation, Rick compared the ecological structure of a rodent assemblage with the morphological makeup of the rodent community. Rick continues to work on rodent morphology but with an emphasis on Pleistocene paleo-ecology. After teaching at the University of Texas at El Paso from 1977-83, Rick accepted a position at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History where he served as Chair of the Science Division and Curator of Invertebrate Zoology.

Traut, Gerald M.S. University of New Mexico, 1963; Ph.D., University of New Mexico 1968. For his master’s thesis Jerry studied the comparative morphology of two species of Onychomys in New Mexico, and he studied geographic variation in Pipistrellus hesperus for his dissertation. Jerry and colleagues published two laboratory manuals and a collection of “Readings” for their introductory courses. Since the mid-1970’s Jerry has spent most of his summer breaks exploring the national parks of the western states and has offered several five-week field courses for his students at the University of Phoenix in these parklands.