THEN and NOW
Meet the GBRS Researchers
Patrick Ruhl is an Assistant Professor of Biology at Harding. His research interests include wildlife biology and conservation with a more specific focus on the impacts of anthropogenic disturbance on wildlife ecology. Dr. Ruhl also serves as the Property Director of GBRS.
Dr. Ruhl is certified as a Master Bander by the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory and he operates a weekly banding station with undergraduate students at GBRS.
Mike Plummer is an Emeritus Professor of Biology at Harding. His research interests include using mark-recapture and radiotelemetry techniques to study the ecology of turtles and snakes. At GBRS, Mike uses these techniques to study the ecology of Mud Snakes (Farancia abacura) and Rough Green Snakes (Opheodrys aestivus).
Ryan Stork is an Associate Professor of Biology at Harding. His research at GBRS focuses mainly on describing the behavior and ecology of Wolf Spiders (Rabidosa rabida). Ryan is also the director of L.I.F.E. (Learning Integrated Field Experience) Camp at GBRS, a 3-day Biology camp for 7-12 graders.
Dr. Cooper
Steve Cooper is an Associate Professor of Biology at Harding. His research interests focus broadly on the environmental response to anthropogenic stressors, with a more specific focus on toxicology in aquatic ecosystems.
At GBRS, Steve is studying how external factors in the environment affect animal responses to exogenous chemicals.
Dr. Pittman
Trixie Lee Pittman is an Associate Professor of Biology at Harding. Her research background includes turtle hatchling ecology, deer foraging behavior, physiological ecology of hibernation in arctic ground squirrels and Alaska marmots, and stable isotope techniques used to study physiology. Her current research interests include the physiology of thermoregulation and the effects of light pollution on a wide range of organisms.