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Dr. A. Kristopher Lappin
A. Kristopher Lappin, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Biological Sciences Department
California State Polytechnic University
3801 West Temple Avenue
Pomona, CA 91768-2553
Email: aklappin@csupomona.edu
Website: www.csupomona.edu/~aklappin
The unifying theme of my research is the evolutionary ecomorphology of animals. In this field, one seeks to understand how the form and function of animals relates to how they interact with their environment. On the one hand, techniques in functional morphology, biomechanics, and physiology are used to study how animals work. On the other, animal-environment relationships, such as predator-prey interactions and social behavior, can be studied using techniques in behavioral ecology. The deciphering of the relationships between form/function and ecology/behavior can be achieved quantifying relevant animal performance measures, such as sprinting speed, jumping distance, and, my favorite, bite force. The characterization of animal performance, an emergent property of animal form and function, is a fundamental component of ecomorphological research. When ecomorphological patterns are examined in a comparative phylogenetic framework, one can test hypotheses of how the form and function of animals have evolved with regard to their behavioral ecology.
For my Dissertation research, I used the feeding biology of collared and leopard lizards (Crotaphytus and Gambelia) as model system. By measuring bite-force performance, I related interspecific differences in cranial and jaw morphology to the evolution of specialized dietary ecology and feeding behavior. In recent years, my research has included studies of the mechanics and control of ballistic prey capture (anurans; see Nishikawa's page), feeding behavior (anurans and lizards), ontogeny of bite force (crocodilians), territoriality and sexual selection (lizards), and patterns and consequences of sexual dimorphism (lizards).
Page Updates
04/23/2008 Added photo galleries of last year's Herpetology trips to the Mojave Desert and Camp Pendleton as well as galleries of Ecological and Behavioral Morphology student projects and labs.
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