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Courses:
Ecology and
Evolution (BIO
124), Mathematical
Models in Biology (BIO
325), Population Ecology (452/552),
Graduate
Ecology Seminar (BIO 660)
Research Interests: Population Ecology,
Conservation Ecology, Disease Ecology
Ongoing project areas in my laboratory include:
-
investigation of amphibian - bacteria
mutualisms
-
the community ecology context of infectious
diseases in wildlife
-
experimental examination of the causes of
life-history variation and joint nesting behavior among female
four-toed salamanders (Hemidactylium
scutatum)
-
conservation of the rare Cow Knob salamander (Plethodon
punctatus)
Our research is currently funded by the National
Science Foundation and supported by the USDA Forest Service.
Selected
Publications: *undergraduate or masters
student co-author
Becker M.H., R.M. Brucker, C.R.
Schwantes*, R.N. Harris, K.P.C. Minbiole. The bacterially produced
metabolite violacein is associated with survival in amphibians infected
with a lethal disease. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, in press.
Harris, R. N., R. M. Brucker, J. B. Walke, M. H. Becker, C. R.
Schwantes*, D. C Flaherty*, B. A. Lam, D. C. Woodhams, C. J. Briggs, V.
T. Vredenburg, K. P. C. Minbiole. 2009. Skin microbes on frogs
prevent morbidity and mortality caused by a lethal skin fungus. ISME
Journal 3:818-824.
Harris, R. N., A. Lauer, M. A. Simon, J. L. Banning*, R. A.
Alford. 2009. Addition of antifungal skin bacteria to salamanders
ameliorates the effects of chytridiomycosis. Diseases of Aquatic
Organisms 83:11-16.
Banning*, J. L., A. L. Weddle*, G. W. Wahl
III*, M. A. Simon, A. Lauer, R. L. Walters*, and R. N. Harris. 2008.
Antifungal skin bacteria, embryonic survival, and communal nesting in
four-toed salamanders, Hemidactylium scutatum. Oecologia 156:423-429.
Brucker*, R. M., C. M. Baylor*, R. L. Walters*, A. Lauer, R. N. Harris,
and K. P. C. Minbiole. 2008. The identification of
2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol as an antifungal metabolite produced by
cutaneous bacteria of the salamander Plethodon cinereus. Journal of Chemical Ecology 34:39-43.
Brucker*, R. N. Harris, C. R. Schwantes*, T. N. Gallaher, D. C.
Flaherty*, B. A. Lam*, K. P. C. Minbiole. 2008. Amphibian chemical
defense: antifungal metabolites of the microsymbiont Janthinobacterium lividum on the salamander Plethodon cinereus. Journal of Chemical Ecology 34:1422-1429.
Lauer, A., M. A. Simon, J. L. Banning*, B. Lam*, and R. N. Harris.
2008. Diversity of cutaneous bacteria with antifungal activity isolated
from female four-toed salamanders. The ISME Journal 2:145-157.
Wahl*, G. W. III, R. N. Harris, and T. Nelms*. 2008. Nest site selection and embryonic survival in four-toed salamanders, Hemidactylium scutatum (Caudata: Plethodontidae). Herpetologica 64:12-19.
Belden, L. K., and R. N. Harris. 2007. Infectious diseases in
wildlife: the community ecology context. Frontiers in Ecology and
Environment 5:533-539.
Lauer, A., M. A. Simon, J. L. Banning*, E. André*, K. Duncan*,
and R. N. Harris. 2007. Common cutaneous bacteria from the
eastern red-backed salamander can inhibit pathogenic fungi. Copeia
2007: 630-640.
Woodhams, D. C., L. A. Rollins-Smith, R. A. Alford, M. A. Simon &
R. N. Harris. 2007. Response - Innate immune defenses of amphibian
skin: antimicrobial peptides and more. Animal Conservation 10:
425–428.
Woodhams, D. C., V. T. Vredenburg, M. J. Stice, M. A. Simon, D.
Billheimer, B. Shakhtour, Y. Shyr, C. J. Briggs, L. A. Rollins-Smith,
and R. N. Harris. 2007. Symbiotic bacteria contribute to innate immune
defenses of the threatened mountain yellow-legged frog, Rana muscosa. Biological Conservation 138: 390-398.
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