Dr. Romi Burks
|Dr. Burks in the Field|
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Biology, magna cum laude, Loyola University Chicago (1995)
B.A. English, magna cum laude, Loyola University Chicago (1995)
Ph.D., Aquatic Ecology, University of Notre Dame (2000)
Research Interests: food web interactions, invasion biology, predator-avoidance behavior, chemical ecology
Since my arrival at Southwestern,
my lab has been taken over (somewhat literally!) by an exotic, invasive applesnail, Pomacea insularum.
We have been studying this snail for nearly 7 years and still have much to learn! Receiving my Ph.D. in the lab of
noted exotic species authority Dr. David Lodge at the University
of Notre Dame has helped me focus my current research emphasis to questions associated with invasion biology.
In particular, I collaborate with student researchers to investigate multiple aspects of basic life history of
this new invader. In addition, the work has expanded to include an international collaboration in Uruguay
and Brazil where native applesnails occur.
A Little History:
I am an aquatic ecologist interested in how organisms
interact within and impact shallow lakes and ponds. My graduate work focused on looking at predator-avoidance
behaviors in an important aquatic herbivore, Daphnia. In temperate systems, this large-bodied zooplankter
migrates horizontally and seeks refuge in the complexity offered by aquatic plants and my research has
examined what mechanisms regulate the frequency and amplitude of this behavior. In particular, Daphnia
respond to the presence of chemical signals from both predators and plants that influence the extent to which they migrate.
They also seek refuge in aquatic plants. Apple snails eat aquatic plants so it is not difficult to connect the dots.
Thus, my interests have always included a strong focus on invertebrates and I've just moved up in size!
In my lab, students have the opportunity to
work on any of the life stages (egg, hatchling, juvenile, adult) of this invasive applesnails that we collect from the
Houston area and maintain in the lab. Some of the work has directly involved behavioral investigations or experiments and
other work focuses more directly on basic ecological questions. Below I list a timeline of our work.
The genus Pomacea possesses a history of global invasion. P. canaliculata made the top 100 list of the world's worst invasive species with substantial impacts on Asian rice. Very recently, colleagues at the University of Hawaii (link to Ken Hayes's website - http://www2.hawaii.edu/~khayes/) and Florida International University (link to Tim Collin's http://www.fiu.edu/~collinst/ and Tim Rawling's website http://www.fiu.edu/~rawlings/) determined that a new species, Pomacea insularum, occurs in Texas, Georgia and has recently invaded the Everglades. Very little information exists on this species, although it is closely related to the better-known global invader.
To further add to the complexity,
P. insularum competes with a native Florida applesnail, P. paludosa, that serves as food for an endangered
raptor. In addition, the aquarium trade may facilitate the introduction, establishment and spread of P. insularum
by selling another applesnail species, P. diffusa, which only eats algae but, at small sizes, closely resembles the species
that we study. These aquarium snails are sometimes called 'mystery snails' as it is a mystery as to what you actually bring home.
Philosophy of Collaborative Research with Students:
To maximize productivity for both students and myself,
I continually recruiting students to work on some aspect of applesnail ecology.I want to build a stair-step lecture in the lab
where the most senior member helps out the newcomers and new students form their own ideas by helping out senior students on
developed projects. Although we want to focus on efforts on this study organism, the diversity of questions that can be
explored remains endless. I work directly with the student to develop his/her own research question that includes
a reasonable degree of "personal ownership or investment." To get the most out of the research process, students need to
work on questions that pique their own interests. When first embarking on a research projects, students review
primary literature and then draft a proposal that includes a rationale, hypotheses, and proposed methods for developing experiments.
We spend substantial time developing the context of the research and determining the appropriate methods (not many ecology project have
established specific protocols). After executing the experiments, students participate directly in data analysis and dissemination
through poster nd oral presentations and, hopefully contributions to a scientific paper.