THE CLOTFELTER LAB @ AMHERST COLLEGE
LAB NEWS
August 2020
New paper in Journal of Experimental Biology!
Senior honors student Jocelyn Hunyadi '19 and Ethan Clotfelter, along with co-authors from the University of Massachusetts and the New Jersey Institute of Technology, recently published a paper in the Journal of Experimental Biology. We investigated the relationship between morphology and swimming performance in rusty crayfish, focusing on the tail-flip escape response. We also demonstrated the fluid dynamics underlying the escape response, which gives new insights into how aquatic animals move. Our work was also highlighted in the “Inside JEB” section of the journal.
August 2020
New papers by lab alumni Joely DeSimone '15 and Betsy Black '16
Joely DeSimone ‘15 is the lead author on a new paper published in Hormones and Behavior entitled “Developing a Stopover-CORT hypothesis: Corticosterone predicts body composition and refueling rate in gray catbirds during migratory stopover.” The work is part of her Ph.D. dissertation research in Creagh Breuner's lab at the University of Montana. DeSimone and fellow lab alum Betsy Black '16 teamed up on another recent paper, this one published with Alex Gerson's lab and published in Journal of Experimental Biology.
April 2020
Louise Stevenson '09 leads toxicology lab
Lab alum Louise Stevenson '09 has been tapped to lead the Toxicology Lab and Mercury Biomonitoring Program at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in TN. This is a huge responsibility and a great promotion for an amazing scientist. Learn more about their work here. Congrats Louise!
April 2020
Sun '18 thesis research featured in new paper
Natalie Sun '18, former research associate Sarah Goodwin, and Ethan Clotfelter -- along with Alex Gerson and Michael Griego from the University of Massachusetts -- are co-authors on a new paper published this month in Journal of Avian Biology. The paper is entitled "Does blood loss explain higher resting metabolic rates in nestling birds with hematophagous ectoparasites?" You can read more about it here. Photo shows (L to R): Natalie Sun '18, Sarah Goodwin, Sam Zhang '21, and Phebe Palmer '21.