Department of Zoology: Professor

Contact Information Ronald J. Brooks rjbrooks@uoguelph.ca (519) 824-4120 ext. 53944 Room 182, Axelrod Building

Areas of Focus

• Mammalian behaviour



• Life history tactics



• Evolutionary ecology

Current and Recent Grad Students

• Ashpole, Sara
• Cameron, Melissa
• Hollet, Willie
• Holt, Sarah Marie
• Hughes, Elinor J.
• Matthews, Elaine
• Rouse, Jeremy
• Samson, Jason

Education

• BSc Toronto 1963
• MSc Toronto 1966
• PhD Illinois 1970

Teaching

• BIOL*3130 Conservation Biology I
• ZOO*4280 Mammalogy
• ZOO*4410 Field Ecology
• PHIL*6740 Philosophy & Biology*

Co-teaching course with Michael Ruse

Research Related Web Sites

• The Brooks Lab Homepage
• Algonquin Wildlife Research Station

Research Interests

The major focus of my current research is life history of turtles, particularly the relationships among age at first reproduction, reproductive output, body size and growth rates and longevity. I am also especially interested in the changes in correlati on among life history measures when these measures are examined among species, among populations, among individuals and within individuals over time. I also am investigating temperature dependent sex determination in turtles and how species with TDSD con trol sex ratio. Some of my graduate students are examining thermoregulation and temperature selection in relation to home range dynamics in the snapping turtle. I am also interested in the social behaviour of small mammals particularly infanticide and p arental care and the evolution of these behaviour patterns.

Selected Research Publications

• Bonduriansky, R. and Brooks, R. J. 1998. Male antler flies (Propiophilia litigata; Diptera: Piophilidae) are more selective than females in mate choice. Can. J. Zool. In press.



• de Solla,. S. R., Bishop, C. A., Van Der Kraak, G., and Brooks, R. J. 1998. Impact of organochlorine contamination on levels of sex hormones and external morphology of common snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina serpentina) in Ontario, Canada. Environ. Health Perspect. 106: 253-260.



• de Solla, S. R., Bonduriansky, R., and Brooks, R. J. 1998. Eliminating autocorrelation reduces biological relevance of home range estimates. J. Anim. Ecol. In press.



• Fryxell, J. M., Falls, J. B., Falls, A. E., Brooks, R. J. 1998. Long-term dynamics of small-mammal populations in Ontario. Ecology. 79: 213-225.



• Koper, N. and Brooks, R. J. 1998. Population-size estimates and unequal catchability in painted turtles. Can. J. Zool. 76: 458-465.



• Litzgus, J. D. and Brooks, R. J. 1998. Growth in a cold environment: body size and sexual maturity in a northern population of spotted turtles, Clemmys gutatta. Can. J. Zool. 76: 1-10.



• Brooks, R. J., Krawchuck, M. A., Stevens, C., and Koper, N. 1997. Testing the precision and accuracy of age estimates using lines in scutes of Chelydra serpentina and Chrysemys picta. J. Herpetol. 31: 521-529.



• Cunnington, D. C. and Brooks, R. J. 1996. Bet-hedging theory and eigenelasticity: a comparison of the life histories of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) and snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina). Can. J. Zool. 74: 291-296.



• Edmonds, J. H. and Brooks, R. J. 1996. Demography, sex ratio, and sexual size dimorphism in a northern population of common musk turtles (Sternotherus odoratus). Can. J. Zool. 74: 918-925.



• Shirose, L. J. and Brooks, R. J. 1995. Age structure, mortality, and longevity in syntopic populations of three species of Ranid frogs in central Ontario. Can. J. Zool. 73: 1878-1886.