Difference between revisions of "Kurt Schwenk"

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'''Email for reprints not available here as pdfs:  kurt.schwenk@uconn.edu'''<br><br>
 
'''Email for reprints not available here as pdfs:  kurt.schwenk@uconn.edu'''<br><br>
[[Image:FeedingCover_sm.jpg |thumb|left|[http://www.amazon.com/Feeding-Function-Evolution-Tetrapod-Vertebrates/dp/0126325901/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210882374&sr=1-1 '''Buy it now!'''] A bargain at only $233... (or better yet, email me and other authors for free reprints of their chapters!)]]
+
[[Image:FeedingCover_sm.jpg |thumb|left|[http://www.amazon.com/Feeding-Function-Evolution-Tetrapod-Vertebrates/dp/0126325901/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210882374&sr=1-1 '''Buy it now!'''] Now out of print—available for $240!... (or better yet, email me and other authors for free reprints of their chapters!)]]
  
 
<h2 style=font-size:115%>'''BOOKS:'''</h2>
 
<h2 style=font-size:115%>'''BOOKS:'''</h2>
  
 
Schwenk, K. (editor) (2000) ''Feeding: Form, Function and Evolution in Tetrapod Vertebrates''. Academic Press, San Diego. xv + 537 pp.<br><br>
 
Schwenk, K. (editor) (2000) ''Feeding: Form, Function and Evolution in Tetrapod Vertebrates''. Academic Press, San Diego. xv + 537 pp.<br><br>
 +
 +
REVIEWS:
 +
:*''Quarterly Review of Biology''  {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/.pdf}}
 +
:*''Copeia''  {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/.pdf}}
 +
:*''''  {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/.pdf}}
  
 
Schwenk, K. and G. P. Wagner. ''Evolutionary Constraint''  (in preparation)<br><br>
 
Schwenk, K. and G. P. Wagner. ''Evolutionary Constraint''  (in preparation)<br><br>
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:*UConn Today—[http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2011/04/snakes-lizards-and-tongues/''Snakes, Lizards, and Tongues'']
 
:*UConn Today—[http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2011/04/snakes-lizards-and-tongues/''Snakes, Lizards, and Tongues'']
 
:*UConn Magazine—''Studying Snakes''  {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/UConnMagBlurb11.pdf}}
 
:*UConn Magazine—''Studying Snakes''  {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/UConnMagBlurb11.pdf}}
:*'Super Slo-Mo Tuesdays', ''Daily Planet'', Discovery Channel, Canada<br><br>
+
:*'Super Slo-Mo Tuesdays', ''Daily Planet'', Discovery Channel, Canada
 +
:*''New Scientist,'' on Bill's SICB presentation on aquatic tongue-flicking in ''Nerodia'' (forthcoming)<br><br>
  
 
'''Filoramo, N.''', and K. Schwenk. Tongue tips, tropotaxis and the mechanism of chemical delivery to the vomeronasal organs in fork-tongued squamates (Reptilia) (in prep)<br><br>
 
'''Filoramo, N.''', and K. Schwenk. Tongue tips, tropotaxis and the mechanism of chemical delivery to the vomeronasal organs in fork-tongued squamates (Reptilia) (in prep)<br><br>
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Vitt, L. J., E. R. Pianka, W. E. Cooper and K. Schwenk (2003) History and the global ecology of squamate reptiles. American Naturalist 162:44-60.  {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/VittEAAmNat03.pdf}}<br><br>
 
Vitt, L. J., E. R. Pianka, W. E. Cooper and K. Schwenk (2003) History and the global ecology of squamate reptiles. American Naturalist 162:44-60.  {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/VittEAAmNat03.pdf}}<br><br>
  
Schwenk, K., and G. P. Wagner. (2003) Constraint. Pp. 52-61. In: ''Key Words and Concepts in Evolutionary Developmental Biology''. B. K. Hall & W. M. Olson (eds.). Harvard University Press, Cambridge.    {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/SchwenkWagnerConstraint03.pdf}}or [http://books.google.com/books?id=V6ut8yFEkwQC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=%22kurt+schwenk%22&source=web&ots=kAY-qB-MXX&sig=Pq1ong4ypNvlTpBvDNcJoACY4F8&hl=en '''GOOGLE BOOKS''']<br><br>
+
Schwenk, K., and G. P. Wagner. (2003) Constraint. Pp. 52-61. In: ''Key Words and Concepts in Evolutionary Developmental Biology''. B. K. Hall & W. M. Olson (eds.). Harvard University Press, Cambridge.    {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/SchwenkWagnerConstraint03.pdf}}<br><br>
  
 
Schwenk, K. (2002) Constraint. Pp. 196-199. In: ''Encyclopedia of Evolution'', M. Pagel (ed.). Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford.  {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/SchwenkConstraint02.pdf}}<br><br>
 
Schwenk, K. (2002) Constraint. Pp. 196-199. In: ''Encyclopedia of Evolution'', M. Pagel (ed.). Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford.  {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/SchwenkConstraint02.pdf}}<br><br>
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Schwenk, K. (2000) Preface. Pp. xiii-xv. In: ''Feeding: Form, Function and Evolution in Tetrapod Vertebrates''. K. Schwenk (ed.). Academic Press, San Diego. {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/SchwenkFeedPreface00.pdf}}<br><br>
 
Schwenk, K. (2000) Preface. Pp. xiii-xv. In: ''Feeding: Form, Function and Evolution in Tetrapod Vertebrates''. K. Schwenk (ed.). Academic Press, San Diego. {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/SchwenkFeedPreface00.pdf}}<br><br>
  
Schwenk, K. (2000) Tetrapod feeding in the context of vertebrate morphology. Pp. 3-20. In: ''Feeding: Form, Function and Evolution in Tetrapod Vertebrates''. K. Schwenk (ed.). Academic Press, San Diego. '''Warning: Large File''' {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/SchwenkFeedTetMorph00.pdf}}<br><br>
+
Schwenk, K. (2000) Tetrapod feeding in the context of vertebrate morphology. Pp. 3-20. In: ''Feeding: Form, Function and Evolution in Tetrapod Vertebrates''. K. Schwenk (ed.). Academic Press, San Diego. {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/SchwenkFeedTetMorph00.pdf}}<br><br>
  
Schwenk, K. (2000) An introduction to tetrapod feeding. Pp. 21-61. In: ''Feeding: Form, Function and Evolution in Tetrapod Vertebrates''. K. Schwenk (ed.). Academic Press, San Diego.  '''Warning: Large File''' {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/SchwenkFeedIntro00.pdf}}<br><br>
+
Schwenk, K. (2000) An introduction to tetrapod feeding. Pp. 21-61. In: ''Feeding: Form, Function and Evolution in Tetrapod Vertebrates''. K. Schwenk (ed.). Academic Press, San Diego.  {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/SchwenkFeedIntro00.pdf}}<br><br>
  
 
Schwenk, K. (2000) Feeding in lepidosaurs. Pp. 175-291. In: ''Feeding: Form, Function and Evolution in Tetrapod Vertebrates''. K. Schwenk (ed.). Academic Press, San Diego.<br>
 
Schwenk, K. (2000) Feeding in lepidosaurs. Pp. 175-291. In: ''Feeding: Form, Function and Evolution in Tetrapod Vertebrates''. K. Schwenk (ed.). Academic Press, San Diego.<br>
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Pigliucci, M., C. D. Schlichting, C. S. Jones and K. Schwenk (1996) Developmental reaction norms: the interactions among allometry, ontogeny and plasticity. Plant Species Biology 11:69-85.<br><br>
 
Pigliucci, M., C. D. Schlichting, C. S. Jones and K. Schwenk (1996) Developmental reaction norms: the interactions among allometry, ontogeny and plasticity. Plant Species Biology 11:69-85.<br><br>
  
Schwenk, K. (1996) REVIEW OF: ''Vertebrate Life'', 4th ed., by F. H. Pough et al., Quart. Rev. Biol. 71:581-582.<br><br>
 
 
[[Image:NaturalHistoryCover95_sm.jpg |thumb|left|Schwenk (1995)]]
 
 
[[Image:TREECover95_sm.jpg |thumb|right|Schwenk (1995)]]
 
[[Image:TREECover95_sm.jpg |thumb|right|Schwenk (1995)]]
 +
[[Image:NaturalHistoryCover95_sm.jpg |thumb|right|Schwenk (1995)]]
 +
 +
Schwenk, K. (1996) REVIEW OF: ''Vertebrate Life'', 4th ed., by F. H. Pough et al., Quart. Rev. Biol. 71:581-582.<br><br>
  
 
Schwenk, K. (1995) REVIEW OF: ''The Lizard Man Speaks'', by E. R. Pianka. Quart. Rev. Biol. 70:328-329. {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/SchwenkREVIEWPiankaQRB95.pdf}}<br><br>
 
Schwenk, K. (1995) REVIEW OF: ''The Lizard Man Speaks'', by E. R. Pianka. Quart. Rev. Biol. 70:328-329. {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/SchwenkREVIEWPiankaQRB95.pdf}}<br><br>
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:*''Scholastic Super Science"  {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/ScholasticSuperScience07.pdf}}
 
:*''Scholastic Super Science"  {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/ScholasticSuperScience07.pdf}}
 
:*''International Wildlife''
 
:*''International Wildlife''
:*''Wilson Quarterly''
+
:*''Wilson Quarterly'' {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/ForkedTongueCommentWilsonQuart95.pdf}}
 
:*''Washington Post''
 
:*''Washington Post''
 
:*''USA Today'' (front page:  {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/USATodayForkTongue.pdf}})
 
:*''USA Today'' (front page:  {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/USATodayForkTongue.pdf}})
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:*''Manchester Journal Inquirer''
 
:*''Manchester Journal Inquirer''
 
:*''San Jose Mercury News''
 
:*''San Jose Mercury News''
:*''Willimantic Chronicle'
+
:*''Willimantic Chronicle''
 +
:*''College and University Dialogue'' (Adventist journal)  {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/DialogueAdventistSnakeTongue96.pdf}})
 
:*''Encyclopaedia Britanica Yearbook of Science and the Future'' (1995)
 
:*''Encyclopaedia Britanica Yearbook of Science and the Future'' (1995)
 
:*''Blue Genes and Polyester Plants'', by S. McGrayne (1997)
 
:*''Blue Genes and Polyester Plants'', by S. McGrayne (1997)
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Schwenk, K. and D. A. Bell (1988) A cryptic intermediate in the evolution of chameleon tongue projection. Experientia 44:697-700.  {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/SchwenkBellChamTongue88.pdf}}<br><br>
 
Schwenk, K. and D. A. Bell (1988) A cryptic intermediate in the evolution of chameleon tongue projection. Experientia 44:697-700.  {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/SchwenkBellChamTongue88.pdf}}<br><br>
  
Schwenk, K. (1988) Comparative morphology of the lepidosaur tongue and its relevance to squamate phylogeny. In: R. Estes & G. Pregill (eds.). ''Phylogenetic Relationships of the Lizard Families''. Stanford Univ. Press, Stanford, 569-598. '''Warning: Large File''' {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/Schwenk1988lg.pdf}}<br><br>
+
Schwenk, K. (1988) Comparative morphology of the lepidosaur tongue and its relevance to squamate phylogeny. In: R. Estes & G. Pregill (eds.). ''Phylogenetic Relationships of the Lizard Families''. Stanford Univ. Press, Stanford, 569-598. {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/Schwenk1988lg.pdf}}<br><br>
  
 
Schwenk, K. and H. W. Greene (1987) Water collection and drinking in ''Phrynocephalus helioscopus'': a possible condensation mechanism. J. Herpetology 21:134-139.  {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/SchwenkGreenePhrynocephalus87.pdf}}<br><br>
 
Schwenk, K. and H. W. Greene (1987) Water collection and drinking in ''Phrynocephalus helioscopus'': a possible condensation mechanism. J. Herpetology 21:134-139.  {{pdf|http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/people/schwenk/SchwenkGreenePhrynocephalus87.pdf}}<br><br>

Revision as of 03:47, 24 February 2013

Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley)

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CONTACT INFORMATION


Office: Pharmacy-Biology Building Rm. 600
Lab: Pharm-Bio 410, 412
Office phone: (860) 486-0351
Lab phone: 860-486-4158
Fax: (860) 486-6364
Email: kurt.schwenk@uconn.edu

Mailing Address:
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
University of Connecticut
75 N. Eagleville Road
Storrs, CT 06269-3043

Kurt with two black racers, Coluber constrictor (photo by S. von Eicken)
Kurt with 3 black racers (photo by K. Hurme)
Kurt with 6 black racers... and multiple bites (photo by L. Jones)
Kurt with copperhead (photo by Chuck Smith)
Kurt with western ringneck snake (Diadophis) in Calif.



EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL HISTORY


Grad student Diego Sustaita (Rubega lab) and lab iguana, Buster, during weekly 'beermorph' discussion
Kurt in 1977 as Bronx Zoo mammal keeper, with juvenile guanaco (and hair!)







RELATED LINKS AND DOWNLOADS


Transverse section of the tongue in an iguanid lizard
Sagittal section of a cat tongue close to the median septum









COURSE LINKS


Kurt demonstrates proper strangulation technique to comparative anatomy students
Kent Wells' Herpetology field trip. UConn herpetologists Wells, Schwenk and Elizabeth Jockusch 3rd, 4th and 6th from left
Mammalogy class at the Bronx Zoo, 10 Nov. 2011
Eastern hognose snake (Heterodon platyrhinos) tongue-flicking. Photo by K. Schwenk.


(spring 2010)

(spring 2010; next offered fall, 2012)

(spring 2011; next offered fall 2013)

(spring 2012)











PUBLIC INFORMATION PAGE SERIES (LINKS)

ManWhoKnewTooMuch.jpg


The list below represents a series of public information pages I will be creating to address commonly asked questions about biological issues—particularly issues and questions about vertebrate animals that I have direct or personal knowledge of. I have been motivated to create these pages because of running across web pages that purport to provide 'answers' to people's questions about animals, evolution and biology generally. While some of the information available on the web is reasonably accurate, I have found that most of it is misleading or downright erroneous. The 'answers' are usually written by people who, although good-intentioned, are mostly ignorant about the topics they address. In any case, the information is nearly always cobbled together from secondary and tertiary sources of information—or worse—rather than direct knowledge of the science or the primary literature on the topic. The aim of these pages, therefore, is to provide accurate, scientifically validated information on some topics in my areas of expertise that come to my attention as being of general interest. I was motivated to do this mostly because of the widespread misinformation being propagated on the web about the first question, below. Since the information used to 'answer' this question is almost always based on a distorted or misunderstood representation of my own research, it seems appropriate for me to set the record straight.

  • 2. Why do snakes flick their tongues? [in preparation]

  • 3. How do snakes eat? [in preparation]

  • 4. How do lizards eat? [in preparation]

  • 5. Can snakes hear? [in preparation]


MAJOR RESEARCH INTERESTS


Former student, Dr. Nirvana Filoramo, celebrates getting the hell out of the lab. She is an Assistant Professor at Worcester State University.
Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) tongue-flicking. Photo by K. Schwenk and C. Smith
Undergrad Leah Herity is studying skin structure related to chemoreception in iguanas
  • Phenotypic evolution
  • Evolutionary constraint
  • Evolutionary and functional morphology of vertebrates
  • Evolutionary and functional morphology of feeding in tetrapod vertebrates, especially lizards
  • Evolutionary and functional morphology of chemoreception in lizards and snakes
  • Evolutionary and functional morphology of the vertebrate tongue

My research program is three-pronged: I pursue empirical studies related to the functional and evolutionary morphology of squamate feeding and chemoreception, and theoretical work related to phenotypic evolution and evolutionary constraint. Feeding and chemoreception are functionally and evolutionarily related in squamates owing to their shared use of a single, complex organ, the tongue. From a biomechanical point of view, optimization of the tongue for feeding function makes it less effective in (vomeronasal) chemoreception and vice versa. Thus, there is a classic functional (and evolutionary) trade-off between the two principal functions of the tongue. Phylogenetic character analysis reveals how each major clade of squamates has found a unique 'solution' to the problem of this trade-off. The dynamic nature of the evolutionary tension created by competing sources of selection pressure has led to my theoretical work on internal selection, functional integration, phenotypic stability and evolutionary constraint. Much of this work has been done in collaboration with Günter Wagner at Yale University. Although theoretical, the work is firmly grounded in my empirical work on squamate feeding and chemosensory systems, which have proven to be compelling model systems for approaching these broader issues.







INFORMATION FOR PROSPECTIVE GRADUATE STUDENTS


Happy undergraduate student, Leah Brown-Wilusz, with bloodworms in the salamander room
Happy graduate student, Tobias Landberg, in the lab. Tobias is a ppostdoc with Howard Whiteman, Murray State Univ, KY.
Former student, Dr. Chuck Smith, is an Assistant Professor at Wofford College, SC
Happy graduate student, Tobias Landberg, in the field (with copperhead, Agkistrodon contortrix)

Students in my laboratory develop their own, independent research programs under my supervision. Although I expect there to be some overlap or mutual interest in student projects, I do not require students to work in my specific research areas. Ideally students will incorporate elements of morphology, evolution and/or function into their projects. Purely ecological or conservation-related projects are discouraged (because they lie outside my areas of expertise), although these can be elements of a research program centered on the former topics. Although I am best able to supervise work on squamate reptiles, I am open to projects dealing with any vertebrate group. I principally do laboratory-based work, but recent graduate students have included significant field components in their research. Applications from potential doctoral students are preferred, but doing a Masters is also possible.

The Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UConn is very integrative and interactive, and there is a great deal of cross-fertilization among labs. The department comprises 30 full-time faculty, all of whom work in the general area of organismal biology. There are an additional 60+ biologists in our sister departments of Physiology and Neurobiology, and Molecular and Cell Biology - and this is not to mention a variety of wildlife biologists in the School of Agriculture, biomedical researchers in the School of Medicine, etc. Thus, there is virtually no area of expertise unavailable to students when they assemble their research advisory committees.

There are eight vertebrate biology faculty in the department (4 herpetology, 2 ornithology, 1 ichthyology, 1 mammalogy), and along with postdocs, graduate and undergraduate students, they constitute a very active and interactive research group. We have informal weekly meetings called Vertlunch in which we read and critique recent papers (and laugh a lot) and every Friday at 4:00 the Schwenk and Rubega labs (and others) meet for Beermorph in which - well, it's pretty self-explanatory. For those morphologists with a developmental bent, we also have sporadic meetings of an Evo-Devo Journal Club in which we read and discuss current literature. And this is not to mention, of course, the frequent graduate seminars on various topics offered by faculty in the department, as well as weekly departmental seminars and occasional 'Tuesday Evening Seminars' run by the EEB graduate students. All-in-all, a very active place where you can be intellectually challenged and exposed to a variety of viewpoints - often while drinking at the same time.

Before applying directly to the department for admission into the graduate program, you should contact me by email and describe your research interests and goals so that we can determine if there is an appropriate match. You should also explore the departmental web page to get as much information about EEB as you can. If you have any questions at all about the department or the University, don't hesitate to email me. I can also put you in touch with current graduate students if you would like to hear about the program from their perspectives.

Students accepted into the doctoral program are guaranteed 5 years of support (mostly by means of Teaching Assistantships). Support beyond 5 years is usually possible for students making good progress, but is not guaranteed. Masters students are guaranteed 2 years of support. The support package includes a tuition waiver and full health benefits.



NSF/SICB INITIATIVE: GRAND CHALLENGES IN ORGANISMAL BIOLOGY


GrandChallengesLogo.jpg
Lab grad students Sara Horwitz, Lauren Jones and Bill Ryerson after recent snake hunt.
Bill completed his Masters with Steve Deban at the Univ. of South Florida—he left Tampa in a hurry...
Kurt ponders the fate of a grad student who refused to bend to his will...

At the January, 2009, annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) in Boston, William Zamer of the National Science Foundation challenged the Society to determine what the 'grand challenge questions' are for future work in organismal biology. As the largest comparative, organismal professional society in the country (and probably the world), SICB was called upon to organize organismal biologists to help shape future funding in the field by identifying integrative and forward-looking research arenas that would not only contribute to basic knowledge in organismal biology, but would also tie-in with interest-areas targeted by the Obama administration. SICB President Rich Satterlie called a series of meetings and discussions among the SICB Executive Committee, and on the basis of these discussions, a four-person subcommittee was appointed, with me as Chair, to produce a brief, initial document to be distributed among NSF staff immediately (as required by NSF's budget meeting schedule). This draft document has been expanded into a full-length manuscript that appeared in the first 2009 issue of the Sociey's journal, Integrative and Comparative Biology. Subsequent issues of the journal feature additional 'perspective' pieces written by other organismal biologists targeting more specific topics. The aim of the documents posted here, as well as the other essays published in ICB, is to stimulate broader discussion in the field about future research initiatives and novel, collaborative and synthetic research directions. SICB (and NSF) hopes that additional discussion will further develop and refine the 'grand challenges' in organismal biology. In the near future, face-to-face meetings are planned to broaden and extend the initiative, and these meetings, it is hoped, will lead to concrete advances and funding opportunities for organismal biology, an area that has been chronically underfunded for many years.

The 'grand challenges' initiative is presently in full swing. Additional essays on organismal biology are appearing regularly in ICB and workshops wer held at the 2010 and 2011 annual SICB meetings directed at broadening participation and developing methods for implementation. I have contributed my own ideas with regard to the latter in an invited BioScience essay (below).

  • You can download the preliminary 'grand challenges' NSF document HERE
  • You can download a reprint of the published 'grand challenges' paper by Schwenk et al. (from Integrative and Comparative Biology) HERE.
  • You can download a reprint of the BioScience 'Viewpoint' essay by Schwenk on strategies for implementing the 'grand challenges' program HERE.
  • For other questions/comments, please contact me directly: kurt.schwenk@uconn.edu


PUBLICATIONS


Email for reprints not available here as pdfs: kurt.schwenk@uconn.edu

Buy it now! Now out of print—available for $240!... (or better yet, email me and other authors for free reprints of their chapters!)

BOOKS:

Schwenk, K. (editor) (2000) Feeding: Form, Function and Evolution in Tetrapod Vertebrates. Academic Press, San Diego. xv + 537 pp.

REVIEWS:

  • Quarterly Review of Biology Pdficon small.gif
  • Copeia Pdficon small.gif
  • ' Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. and G. P. Wagner. Evolutionary Constraint (in preparation)

Whole-issue copies available - email a request

EDITED COMPILATION:

Schwenk, K., and J. M. Starck (eds.) (2005) Integrative organismal biology: papers in honor of Professor Marvalee H. Wake. Zoology 108(4):261-356. LINK [email me for a copy of the entire issue]

PAPERS, BOOK CHAPTERS AND REVIEWS:

(names in bold are current or former students)

Ryerson, W., and K. Schwenk. Kinematics of chemosensory tongue-flicking in garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) (in prep).

Schwenk, K., and W. Ryerson. Biomechanics of chemosensory tongue-flicking in garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) (in prep).

Ryerson, W., and K. Schwenk. Kinematics of terrestrial versus aquatic chemosensory tongue-flicking in water snakes (Nerodia sipedon) (in prep).

Ryerson, W., and K. Schwenk. Why snakes flick their tongues: the fluid dynamics of chemical sampling (in prep)

SOME PRE-PUBLICATION PUBLICITY ON THIS TOPIC:
  • UConn Today—Snakes, Lizards, and Tongues
  • UConn Magazine—Studying Snakes Pdficon small.gif
  • 'Super Slo-Mo Tuesdays', Daily Planet, Discovery Channel, Canada
  • New Scientist, on Bill's SICB presentation on aquatic tongue-flicking in Nerodia (forthcoming)

Filoramo, N., and K. Schwenk. Tongue tips, tropotaxis and the mechanism of chemical delivery to the vomeronasal organs in fork-tongued squamates (Reptilia) (in prep)

Ryerson and Schwenk (2012)

Ryerson, W., and K. Schwenk (2012) A simple, inexpensive system for digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) in biomechanics. J. Exp. Zool. 317A:127-140. Pdficon small.gif (JEZA featured paper)

Schwenk, K. (2011) Letter to the Editor, Oberlin Alumni Magazine (in response to an article suggesting that social media, e.g., 'tweeting', provide good training for writing). Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (2010) Implementing the organismal agenda . BioScience 60:673-674. Pdficon small.gif

Ryerson, W. and S. Deban (2010) Buccal pumping mechanics of Xenopus laevis tadpoles: effects of biotic and abiotic factors. J. Exp. Biol. 213:2444-2452. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K., and G. P. Wagner (2010) Visualizing vertebrates: new methods in functional morphology (editorial). J. Exp. Zool. 313A:241-243. Pdficon small.gif

Flores-Villela, O., C. A. Ríos-Muñoz, K. Schwenk, G. Zamudio-Varela and G. Magaña-Cota (2010) An unpublished manuscript of Alfredo Dugès related to the classification of lizards according to tongue morphology, c. 1898-1899. Archives of Natural History 37:246-254. Pdficon small.gif

Smith C. F., G. W. Schuett and K. Schwenk (2010) Plasma sex sterioids and mating season in wild-living copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix) at the northeastern extreme of their range. Journal of Zoology 280:362-370. Pdficon small.gif

Smith C. F., G. W. Schuett, R. L. Earley, and K. Schwenk. (2009) The spatial and reproductive ecology of copperheads, Agkistrodon contortrix (Serpentes: Viperidae), at the northeastern extreme of their range. Herpetological Monographs 23:43-73. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk et al. (2009)

Schwenk, K.*, D. Padilla*, G. Bakken* and R. Full* (2009) Grand challenges in organismal biology. Integrative and Comparative Biology 49:7-14. (*authorship equally shared) Pdficon small.gif

  • Editorial introduction to Grand Challenges by ICB editor, Harold Heatwole, with GC schematic figure Pdficon small.gif

Filoramo, N., and K. Schwenk (2009) The mechanism of chemical delivery to the vomeronasal organs in squamate reptiles: a comparative morphological approach. J. Exp. Zool. 311A:20-34. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (2008) Aristotle’s ghost. Wild River Review. October 2008. [Online reprint of Schwenk (2002)], Wild River Review home page

Sherbrooke, W. C.,* and K. Schwenk.* (2008) Horned lizards (Phrynosoma) incapacitate dangerous ant prey with mucus. J. Exp. Zool. 309A:447-459. (*authorship equally shared) (JEZA featured paper) Pdficon small.gif

SOME PRESS ON SHERBROOKE & SCHWENK (2008):
  • Journal of Experimental Biology, 'Lizards incapacitate ants with mucus', by Stefan Pulver (see last page of pdf) Pdficon small.gif
  • ScienceNOW, 'How to eat a nasty ant', by Greg Miller LINK or pdf Pdficon small.gif
  • Natural History (12/08-1/09), 'How to Harvest a Harvester', by Graciela Flores Pdficon small.gif
  • The Daily Planet television segment, Discovery Channel (Canada). First broadcast 25 March 2009, approx. 6 min. (working on getting a clip posted)

Smith, C. F., K. Schwenk, R. L. Earley and G. W. Schuett (2008) Sexual size dimorphism of the tongue in a North American pitviper. Journal of Zoology 274:367-374. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (2008) Comparative anatomy and physiology of chemical senses in non-avian aquatic reptiles. In: Sensory Evolution on the Threshold. Adaptations in Secondarily Aquatic Vertebrates. J. G. M. Thewissen and S. Nummela (eds.). Univ. of California Press, Berkeley. Pp. 65-81. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K., and J. G. M. Thewissen (2008) Aquatic and semi-aquatic reptiles. In: Sensory Evolution on the Threshold. Adaptations in Secondarily Aquatic Vertebrates. J. G. M. Thewissen and S. Nummela (eds.). Univ. of California Press, Berkeley. Pp. 7-23. Pdficon small.gif

Eisthen, H., and Schwenk, K. (2008) The chemical stimulus and its detection. In: Sensory Evolution on the Threshold. Adaptations in Secondarily Aquatic Vertebrates. J. G. M. Thewissen and S. Nummela (eds.). Univ. of California Press, Berkeley. Pp. 35-41. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (2006) Evolution illustrated (Letter to the Editor). The Hartford Courant, 4 March:A9. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K.,and M. Rubega (2005) Diversity of vertebrate feeding systems. Pp. 1-41. In: Physiological and Ecological Adaptations to Feeding in Vertebrates. J. M. Starck and T. Wang (eds.). Science Publishers, Enfield, NH. Pdficon small.gif

Schulp, A. S., E. W. A. Mulder and K. Schwenk (2005) Did mosasaurs have forked tongues? Neth. J. Geosci. 84:359-371. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. , W. Korff and J. M. Starck (2005) Preface. Integrative organismal biology: papers in honor of Professor Marvalee H. Wake. Zoology 108:261-267. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K., and G. P. Wagner (2004) The relativism of constraints on phenotypic evolution. Pp. 390-408. In: Phenotypic Integration: Studying the Ecology and Evolution of Complex Phenotypes. M. Pigliucci & K. Preston (eds.). Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (2004) REVIEWS OF: Introduction to Horned Lizards of North America, by Wade C. Sherbrooke, and Horned Lizards: The Book of Horny Toads, by Jane Manaster. Copeia 2004:190-192. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (2004) Leapin’ non-ophidian squamates! REVIEW OF: Lizards. Windows to the Evolution of Diversity, by E. R. Pianka and L. J. Vitt. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 19:357-358. Pdficon small.gif

Vitt, L. J., E. R. Pianka, W. E. Cooper and K. Schwenk (2003) History and the global ecology of squamate reptiles. American Naturalist 162:44-60. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K., and G. P. Wagner. (2003) Constraint. Pp. 52-61. In: Key Words and Concepts in Evolutionary Developmental Biology. B. K. Hall & W. M. Olson (eds.). Harvard University Press, Cambridge. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (2002) Constraint. Pp. 196-199. In: Encyclopedia of Evolution, M. Pagel (ed.). Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (2002) Aristotle’s ghost. Creative Nonfiction No.19:32-40 (Special Issue: “Diversity Dialogues”). Pdficon small.gif

SOME PRESS ON SCHWENK (2002):
  • Chronical of Higher Education, 'Thoughts on Prejudice, Diversity, and Evolution' Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (2001) Extrinsic vs. intrinsic lingual muscles: a false dichotomy? Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. (Harvard) 156:219-235. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K., and G. P. Wagner (2001) Function and the evolution of phenotypic stability: connecting pattern to process. American Zoologist 41:552-563. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (2001) Functional units and their evolution. Pp. 165-198. In: The Character Concept in Evolutionary Biology. G. P. Wagner (ed.). Academic Press, San Diego. Pdficon small.gif

Nishikawa, K. C., and K. Schwenk (2001) Ingestion in amphibians and reptiles. In: Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd: Chichester [doi:10.1038/npg.els.0001835] (pdf = 7 pp) Pdficon small.gif LINK TO ELS SITE

Schwenk, K. (2000) The apian way: from beehives to burrows, animal building sheds new light on biology. REVIEW OF: The Extended Organism. The Physiology of Animal-Built Structures, by J. Scott Turner. The New York Times Book Review, 10 Dec., p. 37. Pdficon small.gif OR SEE IT ONLINE HERE

Schwenk, K. (2000) Preface. Pp. xiii-xv. In: Feeding: Form, Function and Evolution in Tetrapod Vertebrates. K. Schwenk (ed.). Academic Press, San Diego. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (2000) Tetrapod feeding in the context of vertebrate morphology. Pp. 3-20. In: Feeding: Form, Function and Evolution in Tetrapod Vertebrates. K. Schwenk (ed.). Academic Press, San Diego. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (2000) An introduction to tetrapod feeding. Pp. 21-61. In: Feeding: Form, Function and Evolution in Tetrapod Vertebrates. K. Schwenk (ed.). Academic Press, San Diego. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (2000) Feeding in lepidosaurs. Pp. 175-291. In: Feeding: Form, Function and Evolution in Tetrapod Vertebrates. K. Schwenk (ed.). Academic Press, San Diego.
EMAIL (kurt.schwenk@uconn.edu) FOR HIGH QUALITY HARD COPY

Schwenk, K. (2000) A bibliography of turtle feeding. Pp. 169-171. In: Feeding: Form, Function and Evolution in Tetrapod Vertebrates. K. Schwenk (ed.). Academic Press, San Diego. Pdficon small.gif

Wagner, G. P.,* and K. Schwenk* (2000) Evolutionarily Stable Configurations: functional integration and the evolution of phenotypic stability. Pp. 155-217. In: Evolutionary Biology, vol. 31. M. K. Hecht, R. J. MacIntyre & M. T. Clegg (eds.). Kluwer Academic/Plenum Press, New York. (*authorship equally shared). YOU CAN DOWNLOAD A PDF OF THIS PAPER HERE

Schwenk, K. (1998) REVIEW OF: Lizards, Vols. 1 & 2. By M. Rogner. Copeia 1998:1114-1116. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (1998) REVIEW OF: Comparative Osteological Examinations of Geckonids, Eublepharids and Uroplatids, by V. Wellborn (translated by A. P. Russell, A. M. Bauer & A. Deufel). Herpetological Translations No. 1. Breck Bartholomew, Bibliomania, Logan, Utah. Copeia 1998:259-260. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (1997) Snakes and the evolution of Harry Greene. REVIEW OF: Snakes. The Evolution of Mystery in Nature, by H. W. Greene. Natural History 106:8-9 (July/August). Pdficon small.gif

Dial, B. E., and K. Schwenk (1996) Olfaction and predator detection in Coleonyx brevis (Squamata: Eublepharidae) with comments on the functional significance of buccal pulsing in geckos. J. Exp. Zool. 276:415-424. Pdficon small.gif

Pigliucci, M., C. D. Schlichting, C. S. Jones and K. Schwenk (1996) Developmental reaction norms: the interactions among allometry, ontogeny and plasticity. Plant Species Biology 11:69-85.

Schwenk (1995)
Schwenk (1995)

Schwenk, K. (1996) REVIEW OF: Vertebrate Life, 4th ed., by F. H. Pough et al., Quart. Rev. Biol. 71:581-582.

Schwenk, K. (1995) REVIEW OF: The Lizard Man Speaks, by E. R. Pianka. Quart. Rev. Biol. 70:328-329. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (1995) Of tongues and noses: chemoreception in lizards and snakes. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 10:7-12. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (1995) A utilitarian approach to evolutionary constraint. Zoology 98:251-262. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K., and H. W. Greene (1995) No electrostatic sense in snakes. Nature 373:26. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (1995) The serpent's tongue. Natural History 104:48-55 (April). Pdficon small.gif

  • Letter to the Editor re: The serpent's tongue and Schwenk response Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (1994) Why snakes have forked tongues. Science 263:1573-1577. Pdficon small.gif

SOME PRESS ON SCHWENK (1994):
  • National Public Radio (All Things Considered) (see The NPR Interviews, 1995. R. Siegel, ed.)
  • BBC World News Service
  • BBC-4
  • Voice of America
  • CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp.)
  • AAAS Science Update (Mutual Radio Network)
  • WFIU Radio (Indiana Univ., ‘'A Moment of Science'’)
  • ABC news, New Haven, with Geoff Fox (television)
  • TV Ontario (segment for children's show)
  • Associated Press (newspapers throughout North America and Europe) Example: Pdficon small.gif
  • New Scientist
  • Chronical of Higher Education Pdficon small.gif
  • Discover Magazine
  • National Geographic Magazine
  • Australia Nature Pdficon small.gif
  • Readers' Digest
  • Omni Magazine
  • Weekly Reader Magazine
  • Scholastic Super Science" Pdficon small.gif
  • International Wildlife
  • Wilson Quarterly Pdficon small.gif
  • Washington Post
  • USA Today (front page: Pdficon small.gif)
  • International Herald Tribune
  • Boston Globe
  • Daily Telegraph (London)
  • La Guardia (Spain)
  • Hartford Courant
  • New Haven Register''
  • Manchester Journal Inquirer
  • San Jose Mercury News
  • Willimantic Chronicle
  • College and University Dialogue (Adventist journal) Pdficon small.gif)
  • Encyclopaedia Britanica Yearbook of Science and the Future (1995)
  • Blue Genes and Polyester Plants, by S. McGrayne (1997)
  • The NPR Interviews, 1995, edited by Robert Siegel (1995)

Schwenk, K. (1994) Craniology: getting a head. REVIEW OF: The Skull, 3 vols. J. Hanken & B. K. Hall (eds.). Science 263:1779-1780. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (1994) Comparative biology and the importance of cladistic classification: a case study from the sensory biology of squamate reptiles. Biological J. Linnean Soc. 52:69-82. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (1994) Systematics and subjectivity: the phylogeny and classification of iguanian lizards reconsidered. Herpetological Review 25:53-57. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K., and D. B. Wake (1993) Prey processing in Leurognathus marmoratus and the evolution of form and function in desmognathine salamanders (Plethodontidae). Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 49:141-162. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (1993) Are geckos olfactory specialists? J. Zool., Lond. 229:289-302. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (1993) The evolution of chemoreception in squamate reptiles: a phylogenetic approach. Brain, Behavior and Evolution 41:124-137. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. and G. C. Mayer (1991) Tongue display in anoles and its evolutionary basis. 4th Anolis Newsletter. J. Losos & G. Mayer (eds.). National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian), Division of Amphibians and Reptiles, Washington, DC. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (1989) REVIEW OF: The Evolution of Vertebrate Design, by L. B. Radinsky. American Scientist 77:84.

Schwenk, K. and G. S Throckmorton (1989) Functional and evolutionary morphology of lingual feeding in squamate reptiles: phylogenetics and kinematics. J. Zool., Lond. 219:153-175. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. and D. A. Bell (1988) A cryptic intermediate in the evolution of chameleon tongue projection. Experientia 44:697-700. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (1988) Comparative morphology of the lepidosaur tongue and its relevance to squamate phylogeny. In: R. Estes & G. Pregill (eds.). Phylogenetic Relationships of the Lizard Families. Stanford Univ. Press, Stanford, 569-598. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. and H. W. Greene (1987) Water collection and drinking in Phrynocephalus helioscopus: a possible condensation mechanism. J. Herpetology 21:134-139. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (1986) Morphology of the tongue in the tuatara, Sphenodon punctatus (Reptilia: Lepidosauria), with comments on function and phylogeny. J. Morphology 188:129-156. Pdficon small.gif

Wake, M. H. and K. Schwenk (1986) A preliminary report on the morphology and distribution of taste buds in gymnophiones, with comparison to other amphibians. J. Herpetology 20:254-256. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (1985) Occurrence, distribution and functional significance of taste buds in lizards. Copeia 1985:91-101. Pdficon small.gif

Good, D. A., and K. Schwenk (1985) A new species of Abronia (Lacertilia: Anguidae) from Oaxaca, Mexico. Copeia 1985:135-141. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K. (1984) Evolutionary Morphology of the Lepidosaur Tongue. Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Berkeley.

Houck, L., and K. Schwenk (1984) The potential for long-term sperm competition in a plethodontid salamander. Herpetologica 40:410-415. Pdficon small.gif

Jaksic, F. M., and K. Schwenk (1983) Natural history observations on Liolaemus magellanicus, the southernmost lizard in the world. Herpetologica 39:457-461. Pdficon small.gif

Bemis, W., K. Schwenk and M. H. Wake (1983) Morphology and function of the feeding apparatus in Dermophis mexicanus (Amphibia: Gymnophiona). Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 77:75-96. Pdficon small.gif

Jaksic, F. M., H. W. Greene, K. Schwenk and R. L. Seib (1982) Predation upon reptiles in Mediterranean habitats of Chile, California, and Spain: a comparative analysis. Oecologia 53:152-159. Pdficon small.gif

Schwenk, K., S. K. Sessions and D. M. Peccinini-Seale (1982) Karyotypes of the basiliscine lizards Corytophanes cristatus and Corytophanes hernandesii, with comments on the relationship between chromosomal and morphological evolution in lizards. Herpetologica 38:493-501. Pdficon small.gif

memento mori