Areas of Expertise:
- Animal behavior and behavioral ecology
- Reproductive behavior in vertebrate animals
- Physiological ecology, specifically behavioral energetics
- Herpetology and vertebrate biology
My current research focuses on the behavioral and physiological ecology of vertebrate animals and amphibian conservation. My students and I are studying the complex interactions among amphibian skin secretions and their antimicrobial properties, epibiotic bacteria, and how these regulate and potentially inhibit growth of microbial pathogens such as chytrid fungus. We also are studying behavior and energetics of amphibians using techniques such as analysis of vocalizations, muscle biochemistry, and respirometry.
Professor Cathy Bevier’s research interests include the behavioral and physiological ecology of vertebrates, particularly how behavioral performance during reproductive and locomotor activity is correlated with physiological and biochemical characteristics of the animal. Her current work focuses on the behavior, energetics, and thermal biology of frogs using techniques such as sound recording and analysis of vocalizations, focal behavioral observations, mark-recapture census, muscle biochemistry, and respirometry.
