Fox Lab
Welcome to the Fox Lab at OSU
Research
In general, my lab and I advance and utilize a field experimental approach to behavioral and evolutionary ecology, employing mostly lizards as model subjects. We are particularly interested in the development of lizard social organization at both the ontogenetic and evolutionary levels, studying lizards in the United States, Mexico, and Chile. The study of sexual selection is an important aspect of that. Another focus is the behavioral ecology associated with tail autotomy in lizards, exploring the use of the tail in lizards as a status signalling badge. We also conduct research on herp community ecology, especially freshwater turtle communities. A recent, applied, research focus is on the distribution, abundance and habitat affiliations of the Ringed Salamander in Oklahoma--an ecologically cryptic, episodic, fall breeder from the mountainous eastern part of the state. Some of my students and I have been involved in research related to worldwide amphibian declines, especially those related to ranavirus and the chytrid fungus Bd.