Dr. James E. Alexander, Jr.

Assistant Professor                
Department of Biology
University of Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky  40292  

Office:  (502) 852-7243
e-mail :  jealex01 (at symbol) louisville (dot) edu

I currently am the Director of the Ohio River Environmental Station (ORES), an aquatic research station on the Ohio River, owned by The University of Louisville.  

Education

B.A. Biology  (1979),  University of Missouri.

M.A. Biology (1982), University of Missouri.

Ph.D. Zoology (1987), University of Oklahoma.

Postdoctoral Fellow Positions: 

Louisiana State University (1988).

University of Texas-Arlington (1990).

University of Louisville (1992).

Dr. Alexander’s Research Interests

I have a wide-ranging mix of interests, particularly concerning the population ecology, community ecology, and physiological ecology of freshwater invertebrates.  In general, I am interested in how the following factors affect the distribution, density, dispersion, and persistence of animal populations:

1) behavioral responses (dispersal and migration, reproductive behavior and parental care, foraging, predator avoidance);

2) ecological interactions, both direct and indirect  (predator-prey and competitive interactions, intraspecific and interspecific agonistic interactions);

3) physiological adaptations to changes in the physical environment (particularly respiratory adaptations to temperature, turbidity and hypoxia).

Study organisms include: zebra mussels and quagga mussels (Dreissena polymorpha and D. bugensis), snails (Physella, Planorbella, Elimia, Pleurocera, Lithasia, Lymnaea), crayfish (Procambarus, Orconectes), unionid bivalves (numerous spp.), waterbugs (Belostoma), freshwater jellyfish (Craspedacusta), isopods and amphipod crustaceans (Gammarus, Lirceus).

Past and Recent Research Projects

1) zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) and quagga mussel (D. bugensis) impacts on aquatic communities and public utilities.
2) ecological interactions and distribution of two major gastropod groups in lotic ecosystems: pulmonate and prosobranch snails.  
3) physiological tolerances of freshwater and marine mollusks: dreissenid mussels (D. polymorpha and D. bugensis), unionid clams (Toxolasma parvus) and snails (Lithasia obovata , Pleurocera canaliculatum and Littoraria anguilifera). 
4) in vitro culture of unionid mussel glochidia (larvae) and comparing the results to larvae reared in vivo on fish hosts.
5) the impacts of freshwater amphipods and isopods (Gammarus, Lirceus) with the rest of the aquatic community.
6) predator-prey interactions between freshwater snails, insects, fish and crayfish.
7) the impact of freshwater jellyfish (Craspedecusta) on zooplankton and the rest of the aquatic community.
8) the impact of muskrat predation on unionid communities.
9) search for endangered unionid species in the Green River; describing the beta diversity of the Green River unionid community.
10) analysis of the molluscan community (land snails, aquatic snails and bivalves) in the Meade Basin of Southwestern Kansas over the past five million years; analyzing the potential connection between climate change and change in species diversity.
11) classical conditioning in the freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis.
12) the effect of parental care on foraging in waterbugs (Belostoma flumineum).
13) predation tactics and antipredator behavior between freshwater snails (Physella virgata and Helisoma trivolvis)  and crayfish (Procambarus simulans).
14) group foraging tactics (scroungers versus producers) in marine snails (Thais haemastoma) on oysters (Crassostrea virginica).

Are you a college student or graduate student, possibly interested in working in my lab?

1) Are you are a bright, hard-working, congenial, honest and dedicated student who likes to work both in the field (land or freshwater) and in the lab?
2) Are you interested in pursuing a career as a scientist at a college or university, or as a curator in a museum, wildlife sanctuary, zoo or  botanical garden, or as a federal governmental scientist (such as for the US Environmental Protection Agency or US Fish and Wildlife), or as a scientist working for a state conservation/wildlife department, or possibly as a scientist employed by a conservation group (such as the Nature Conservancy)?
3) Are you interested in studying the behavior, ecology or physiological ecology of an animal, or perhaps interested in biological diversity?

If the answers to all of those questions above are 'yes', then call or email me and we can set up a time to talk.   If I have room, and if you have a potentially entertaining research idea -  one that you feel may also be of interest to me (and it is something we can actually get done within a year or two) -  we can certainly discuss it.  If you do not have a specific idea, but you have an interest in understanding nature, and have a strong academic background, we can still talk about potential projects that I would like to see completed.   You may be able to work and get paid through a extramurally-funded project, but it is more likely that you can receive class credit (through independent research) instead.

With respect to potential graduate students, your research need not be identical to mine, but it should be similar enough so that I can provide the greatest assistance in experience, equipment, and knowledge of the appropriate literature and scientists of that field.  From a logistical standpoint, it also is important that your project is similar to research projects currently ongoing by others in my lab; that way, we all help each other.   For PhD students, a strong possibility exists for a teaching assistantship (see the departmental website for more details), but at the same time, we can work on the possibility of an extramurally supported assistantship as well.  I am interested in students who will work hard on their specific project without me having to push them, but are not so independent-minded that they do not communicate and coordinate with me and the other students on a regular basis. 

Dissertations and Theses by Graduate Students Under my Supervision

(Four graduate students have finished their degree programs; one more is currently finishing his doctoral degree.  I also have served or are currently serving on 29 graduate student committees.)

Christopher T. Owen.  Ph.D., University of Louisville, 2009. “Investigations for the conservation and propagation of freshwater mussels”.  Dr. Owen is working on a post-doctoral fellowship at Kentucky State University, Frankfort, KY.

Natalie B.Abram. M.S., University of Louisville, 2008.  “A comparative study on the effects of thermal stress on the respiration rates of adult and juvenile freshwater mollusks: Toxolasma parvus”.

Richard S. Pirkle.  M.S., University of Louisville, 2007.  “Trihalomethane formation potential in two Kentucky reservoirs: possible influencing chemical and physical environmental factors and a potential method for trihalomethane reduction in finished drinking water”.  Mr. Pirkle currently is a Lab Instructor and Biology Coordinator in The Department of Natural Sciences at Shorter College, Rome, GA.

R. Brent Summers.  Ph.D., University of Louisville, 1999.  "The effects of colonization by Dreissena polymorpha (zebra mussel) on the riverine amphipod Gammarus fasciatus: increased benthic production due to biotic and abiotic factors".  Dr. Summers currently is an assistant professor in the Biology Department at the University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, IN.

Grants Funded while at The University of Louisville (as PI or Co-PI)

Alexander, J. E. Jr. 2008. “Locating the endangered ring pink mussel (Obovaria retusa) in the Green River system, Kentucky”, United States Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service ($24,936).

Alexander, J. E. Jr. and M. MacGregor.  2007.  “Development of in vitro (artificial) laboratory culture methods for rearing juvenile freshwater mussels”.   Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, State and Tribal Wildlife Grants, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ($80,000).

Alexander, J. E. Jr. 2007.  “Assessment of Algal Communities”.  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ($26,400).

Alexander, J. E. Jr. 2007. “Development of in vitro (artificial) laboratory culture methods for rearing juvenile freshwater mussels”, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Louisville, Intramural Grants for Research and Creative Activities ($1,970).

Alexander, J. E. Jr. 2006. “Respiratory responses to temperature change in freshwater bivalve mollusks”, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Louisville, Intramural Grants for Research and Creative Activities ($1,990).

Fell, R., J. Alexander and J. Steffen. 2005. “Curriculum enhancement through research-centered learning”. College of Arts and Sciences, University of Louisville, Grant for Improvement of Teaching  ($2,404).

Alexander, J. E. Jr. and J. H. Thorp. 1994. “Impact of a biofouler on water utilities located along rivers.”  American Water Works Association Research Foundation, ($20,000).

Thorp, J. H., J. E. Alexander, Jr. and A. R. Black. 1993. “Reproduction and dispersal of zebra mussels in the Ohio River near Louisville, Kentucky”. Public Service Indiana ($10,000).

Thorp, J. H., A. R. Black, J. E. Alexander, Jr., K. H. Haag, D. A. Howarth, and R. W. Bosserman. 1993. “Experimental analog and sensitivity modeling studies predicting influences of global climate change on introduced species”. U. S. Environmental Protection Agency ($230,334).

Thorp, J. H. J. E. Alexander, Jr., K. H. Haag and J. C. Smith. 1991. “Impact of a biofouler on water companies located along large rivers: Part I. Studies of survival, growth, and reproduction of the zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, in a riverine mesocosm”. American Water Works Association Research Foundation ($146,329).

Classes Taught at The University of Louisville

Biology 102, Introduction to Biological Systems (lecture)
Biology 240, Diversity of Organisms (lecture)
Biology 240, Diversity of Animals (lecture)                
Biology 241, Diversity of Animals (lab)
Biology 240, Unity of Life (lecture)
Biology 241, Unity of Life (lab)
Biology 242, Diversity of Life (lecture)
Biology 243, Diversity of Life (lab)
Biology 244, Principles of Biology (lab)
Biology 263, Environmental Biology (lecture)
Biology 301/363, Principles of Ecology (lecture)
Biology 302, Principles of Ecology (lab)
Biology 305, Invertebrate Zoology (lecture/lab)
Biology 360, Human Anatomy and Physiology (lecture)
Biology 420, Marine Biology (lecture)
Biology 515/615, Environmental Adaptations (lecture)
Biology 572/672, Physiological Ecology (lecture)
Biology 522/622, Aquatic Ecology/Limnology (lecture/lab)
Biology 663, Population and Community Ecology (lecture)

Honors and Awards at The University of Louisville

‘Bill Furnish Award for Excellence in Teaching in Biology’, Department of Biology, University of Louisville (2008) (student nominated).

Finalist for ‘The Paul Weber Award For Departmental Excellence in Teaching’, University of Louisville, Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning. Steffen, J., Alexander, J. E. and R. D. Fell. “Biology Programmatic Assessment of Learning (BIO-PAL)”(2006).

Nominated as a ‘REACH Ambassador Favorite Faculty’, REACH Center, University of Louisville (2006) (student nominated).

Nominated as a 'Faculty Favorite', Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning, University of Louisville (2005, 2009) (student nominated).

Inducted as an Honorary Member, Golden Key International Honor Society, University of Louisville (2005) (student nominated).

Red and Black Mentor, University of Louisville Athletic Association (1998, 2001, 2005) (student nominated).

Faculty of the Year (2000), Runner-up (1996), Disability Awareness Award, Disability Resources Center, University of Louisville (student nominated).

Manual High School-University of Louisville Mentor Program (1999).

Publications        

Smith, A. S. and J. E. Alexander, Jr.  2008.  Potential effects of the freshwater jellyfish Craspedacusta sowerbii on zooplankton community abundance.  Journal of Plankton Research 30 (12):1323-1327.

Alexander, J. E. Jr. and R. F. McMahon. 2004.  Respiratory response to increasing temperature and hypoxia in the zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha.  Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A 137(2): 425-434.

Thorp, J. H., J. E. Alexander, Jr., and G. A. Cobbs. 2002. Coping with warmer, large rivers: a field experiment on potential range expansion of northern quagga mussels (Dreissena bugensis).  Freshwater Biology 47: 1779-1790.

Thorp, J. H.,  J. E. Alexander,  Jr., B. L. Bukaveckas, G. A. Cobbs and K. L. Bresko. 1998. Responses of Ohio River and Lake Erie dreissenid molluscs to changes in temperature and turbidity.  Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 55:220-229.

Brown, K. M., J. E. Alexander, Jr. and J. H. Thorp. 1998. Differences in the ecology and distribution of lotic pulmonate and prosobranch gastropods. American Malacological Bulletin 14: 91-101.

Alexander, J. E. Jr., J. H. Thorp  and J. C. Smith. 1997. Biology and Potential Impacts of Zebra Mussels in Large Rivers.  American Water Works Association Research Foundation, Denver, CO.  (ISBN: 0-89867-930-3).   

Summers, R. B.,  J. H. Thorp, J. E. Alexander, Jr and R. D. Fell. 1996. Respiratory adjustment of dreissenid mussels (Dreissena polymorpha and D. bugensis) in response to chronic turbidity.  Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 53: 1626-1631.

Alexander, J. E. Jr., J. H. Thorp, and R. D. Fell. 1994. Turbidity and temperature effects on oxygen consumption in the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha).  Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 51: 179-184.

Covich, A. P., T. A. Crowl, J. E. Alexander, Jr. and C. C. Vaughn. 1994. Predator-avoidance responses in freshwater decapod-gastropod interactions mediated by chemical stimuli.  Journal of the North American Benthological Society 13: 283-290.

Thorp, J. H., J. E. Alexander, Jr., K. S. Greenwood, A. F. Casper, R. K. Kessler, A. R. Black, W. Fang, A. F. Westin, R. B. Summers, T. W. Sellers and B. Lewis. 1994. Predicting the success of riverine populations of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) - early colonization and microhabitat distribution in the Ohio River.  Pages 457-478 in “Proceedings: Fourth International Zebra Mussel Conference”, The University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute, Advisory Services, Madison, Wisconsin..

Brown, K. M. and J. E. Alexander, Jr. 1994. Group foraging in a marine gastropod: benefits and costs to individuals.  Marine Ecology Progress Series 112:97-105.
 
Alexander, J. E. Jr. and M. L. Bruening. 1992. Introduction to Quantitative Biology (5th Ed.). Burgess International Group, Inc. Edina, MN. (ISBN 0-8087-7352-6).

Alexander, J. E. Jr. and A. P. Covich. 1991. Predation risk and avoidance behavior in two freshwater snails. Biological Bulletin 180: 387-393.

Alexander, J. E. Jr. and A. P. Covich. 1991. Predator avoidance in the freshwater snail Physella virgata to the crayfish Procambarus simulans. Oecologia 87:435-442.

McMahon, R. F. and J. E. Alexander, Jr. 1991.  Respiratory responses to temperature, hypoxia and temperature-acclimation in the zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha (Pall.).  American Zoologist 31(5): A74.

Crowl, T. A. and J. E. Alexander, Jr. 1989. Parental care and foraging ability in male water bugs Belostoma flumineum. Canadian Journal of Zoology 67: 513-515.

Alexander, J. E. Jr., T. E. Audesirk and G. J. Audesirk. 1985. Classical conditioning in the freshwater pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis. The American Biology Teacher 47: 295-298.

Alexander, J. E. Jr., T. E. Audesirk and G. J. Audesirk. 1984. One-trial, long-lasting reward learning in the snail Lymnaea stagnalis. Journal of Neurobiology 15: 67-72.

Alexander, J. E. Jr., T. E. Audesirk and G. J. Audesirk. 1982. Rapid, non-aversive conditioning in a freshwater gastropod. II. Effects of temporal relationships on learning. Behavioral and Neural Biology 36: 391-402.

Audesirk, T.E., J.E. Alexander, Jr., G. J. Audesirk and C. Moyer. 1982. Rapid, non-avesive conditioning  in a freshwater gastropod. I. Effects  of age and motivation.  Behavioral and Neural Biology 36: 379-390.