Research Interests and Background

My general interests are in the fields of animal behavior, marine ecology, and conservation. I have recently been working on projects investigating i) the evolution of mating signals in a tropical coral reef fish, ii) annual fecundity of tautog in Long Island Sound, and iii) behavioral ecology of harbor and grey seals in the Isles of Shoals. Click here to read more about my research.

Directed Research (BI421 / 422)

Students interested in conducting research in my lab should have a general interest in animal behavior. Studying the behavior of organisms has important implications in the fields of conservation, genetics, ecology, and evolution. For example, increased pollution in clear tropical waters may have a negative impact on species that rely on visual cues for mating, finding food, or avoiding predators. Such changes could favor the evolution of different features better adapted to the new environment, eventually leading to alterations in the genetic makeup of a population.

As a student in my lab, you would have the option of working on i) an active research project or ii) a proposed research project (see below).

• Active research projects in the LaPlante lab: 1) Haul-out patterns of grey and harbor seals; 2) The impact of vessel traffic on seal behavior. Click here to read more about active research projects.
• Proposed research projects: students may propose a research project as long as the project examines a question that overlaps with some aspect of animal behavior theory. Potential projects include mating behavior of Betta splendens, effects of climate change on redback salamanders and mating behavior of the wood turtle.

• Betta splendens	Redback salamander	Wood turtle