David K. Skelly

Our lab is interested in a broad range of ecological and evolutionary questions many of which revolve around environmental change in space and time and the means by which organisms respond to those changes.  We use long-term, large scale datasets collected across dozens of populations and monitored for decades to understand patterns of distribution and abundance of our study species and then aim specific studies to evaluate hypotheses for important patterns we uncover.  We have discovered evidence that animals like amphibians are capable of evolving extremely rapidly in response to environmental change.  In spite of their capacity to evolve, their populations frequently undergo local extinctions and, as a group, they are among the most imperiled by a variety of threats.  A better understanding of both the resilience and vulnerability of species like amphibians will lead to better approaches to conservation.  Specific projects have revolved around developmental deformities, endocrine disruption, infectious disease, evolutionary tradeoffs, sex determination, genomics, microclimate, and more.  What they share is a focus on a well studied system that can improve our understanding of both ecological and evolutionary mechanisms driving patterns of biodiversity. 

I teach a first year seminar for undergraduates entitled, "Collections of the Peabody Museum."  The course introduces students to  scientific research through the completion of a research project based on the Museum's collections.    We spend the first part of the course learning about museums and their collections and about scientific research.  Each student then selects a project and spends the remainder of the semester working with a mentor from the Peabody to carry out original research.