2025-2026 SPARCnet RaMP Research Questions & Selecting a Mentor
Participants in SPARCnet RaMP will receive one year of full-time, paid, mentored research training at one of our participating institutions. Participants will complete two research projects: a network-wide cohort project which involves all participants and an individual tailored project co-developed with their mentor. These projects are organized around three cohort project themes and five tailored project themes. Below, we list the broad research questions under each project type, and our mentor profiles describe the specific interests and expertise of each mentor for the 2025-2026 cohort. Our mentors have a diverse set of field and laboratory experience, skills, and tools available to allow participants to design research projects which suit their interests. The map shows you where each mentor is located within the range of our focal study species, the eastern red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus). When you apply to 2025-2026 SPARCnet RaMP you will be asked to rank your preferred mentor(s) & location(s).
Cohort Project Research Questions:
- Population Ecology: How do salamander population structure and dynamics differ across different climatic conditions within the species’ range?
- Physiological Ecology: What is the relationship between environmental conditions and the growth and condition of individual salamanders?
- Behavioral Ecology: How do climatic conditions affect behavior of surface activity by salamanders and do these relationships vary among locations?
Tailored Project Themes & Example Research Questions:
- Behavior, e.g., how does salamander foraging behavior and surface activity vary with changes in climatic variables?
- Physiology, Morphology, and Genetics, e.g., does salamander physiology vary with environmental correlates among populations?
- Habitat, e.g., how do abiotic components, like temperature, moisture, or pH, of study plots correlate with local salamander densities?
- Prediction and Modeling, e.g., how are future climates predicted to affect future distributions of salamanders?
- Human Dimensions, e.g., how can we support effective science communication and engagement of SPARCnet research with land managers?
SPARCnet RaMP Mentors for the 2025-2026 Cohort
Click on mentor names to access their professional websites and learn more about their research.
Elizabeth (Beth) Bastiaans, Ph.D.
SUNY Oneonta
Oneonta, New York
The Bastiaans lab at SUNY Oneonta primarily focuses on behavioral ecology, especially questions relevant to conservation. We have six SPARCnet plots and a highly abundant population of red-backed salamanders, many of which are marked. Past projects in our lab have used the SPARCnet infrastructure and have also involved capturing salamanders from the surrounding forest. Students have investigated what factors affect whether a salamander moves from one cover board to another, how salamanders acclimate over time to changing fall and spring temperatures, how salamanders' ability to tolerate desiccation changes with temperature and precipitation, and how salamanders respond behaviorally and physiologically to tail autotomy. RaMP fellows in the lab would be welcome to design projects taking advantage of our ability to track individual salamanders over time and asking questions related to behavior, growth, physiology, or genetics. We anticipate mentee questions will be in line with the RaMP research theme: “investigate patterns in salamander response to variable environmental conditions, examine mechanisms and processes that underlie these patterns.”
Eric Gangloff, Ph.D.
Ohio Wesleyan University
Delaware, Ohio
The Gangloff Lab of Amphibian and Reptile Ecophysiology utilizes a variety of field and lab approaches to quantify the capacity of these ectothermic vertebrates to respond to novel or changing environments, with special attention on thermal biology. Our salamander research at two SPARCnet sites, including one in partnership with the Peterman Lab at the Ohio State University, includes the use of infrared thermography to quantify both fine- and broad-scale patterns in thermal environments and how this affects salamander behavior. RaMP participants will have the opportunity to pursue a project related to characterizing variation in individual temperature selection across both space and time in the context of changing environments. This work can include a combination of field observations, manipulation of natural environments, and laboratory-based measures toward the goal of linking individual behavior and physiology to population-level processes.
Stephanie Coster, Ph.D.
Randolph-Macon College
Ashland, Virginia
The Richmond area RaMP mentees (2 positions) will both work in the Grayson Lab at the University of Richmond and the Coster lab at Randolph-Macon College (located 30 minutes apart). The Grayson lab at UR studies thermal biology, habitat use, and movement. Past research has explored geographic variation in critical thermal minimum and the high density of salamanders in our suburban plots. The Coster lab at RMC uses genetic techniques to aid in the conservation and management of wildlife populations. Past research has explored how the density of red backed salamanders impacts relatedness (i.e., “Are neighbors family or foe?”). Both RaMP mentees would have the opportunity to learn techniques in experimental field ecology, as well as quantifying genetic diversity and fine-scale genetic structure across the geographic range of red backed salamanders. Mentees will design their tailored research projects to align with the expertise of either mentor.
David McLeod, Ph.D.
Mary Baldwin University
Staunton, Virginia
The McLeod lab at Mary Baldwin University is interested in questions related to the morphology, systematics, ecology, evolution, and conservation of amphibians. As a lab group, we seek opportunities to use our activities and interests to engage the public in science through outreach and education. Located within Appalachia, the world’s biodiversity hotspot for salamanders, we have turned our attention to the diversity present in our own ‘backyard’. Recent research has focused on amphibian disease ecology, competition between native and introduced salamanders, and the effects of human disturbance on salamander ecology. RaMP participants will have the opportunity to participate in our primary project which seeks to understand how differences in the physical environment affect salamander populations. Mentees will also be able to develop independent questions related to topics such as the impacts of agriculture, invasive species, or forest management practices (i.e., prescribed burns) on populations of Plethodon cinereus. Mary Baldwin University is a private liberal arts institution and is home to a small, diverse, and welcoming community of learners.
Brandon Hedrick, Ph.D.
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York
The Hedrick Lab works to explore evolutionary ecology and how different species have been capable of colonizing novel niches through a variety of field-based and computer-based techniques. RaMP participants will have the opportunity to participate in data collection for an ongoing red-back salamander project looking at how elevational changes in microclimate in the Ithaca area impacts space-use and demography. Previous RaMP mentees developed their own projects on salamander longevity and demographic changes over decade long time scales. Participants will also be able to contribute to different projects in the lab examining how either intra- or interspecific morphological or physiological differences in plethodontid salamanders may allow them to live differently in different environments. For example, we will be bringing different species of salamanders into the lab to evaluate their locomotor capabilities by running them on treadmills at different temperatures.
Evan H. Campbell Grant, Ph.D.
United States Geological Survey
UMass Amherst
Turners Falls, Massachusetts
The Northeast Amphibian Research and Montioring Initiative (NEARMI) research program at the U.S.G.S. Conte Anadromous Fish Research Laboratory in Turners Falls, Massachusetts uses field data and quantitative models to understand population dynamics and support Federal and State partners (e.g., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service) in their conservation decision-making. NEARMI offers three SPARCnet RaMP opportunities: (1) RaMP participants will investigate the potential to combine datasets from Core Project capture-mark-recapture sites with less intensive, but more spatially extensive, count data. (2) RaMP participants will have the opportunity to test relative sensitivity to different manifestations of seasonal drought, through both an experimental and data analysis approach. (3) RaMP participants will have the opportunity to understand how individual breeding status affects surface activity, using datasets from the Core Project capture-mark-recapture sites.
David A.W. Miller, Ph.D.
Pennsylvania State University
State College, Pennsylvania
The Applied Population Ecology Lab at Penn State University seeks to understand how climate and land-use change affect wildlife populations and communities. The mentee will join an active and dynamic lab that includes undergraduate students, graduate research assistants, post-docs, and field and lab technicians working to address real-world conservation needs. Our research focuses on innovative field and statistical approaches to quantify how wildlife populations respond to stressors. The mentee will have the opportunity to work on one of two potential research areas. The first would focus on combining data about thermal preferences of terrestrial salamanders with species richness estimates to determine how seasonality and climate are related to salamander diversity in eastern North America . The second potential topic would focus on quantifying current historic distributions of red-backed salamanders across their range using a combination of historic and contemporary citizen science data to estimate how distributions have shifted across time and the current status of the species across its range.
Kristine Grayson, Ph.D.
University of Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
The Richmond area RaMP mentees (2 positions) will both work in the Grayson Lab at the University of Richmond and the Coster lab at Randolph Macon College (located 30 minutes apart). The Grayson lab at UR studies thermal biology, habitat use, and movement. Past research has explored geographic variation in critical thermal minimum and the high density of salamanders in our suburban plots. The Coster lab at RMC uses genetic techniques to aid in the conservation and management of wildlife populations. Past research has explored how the density of red backed salamanders impacts relatedness (i.e., “Are neighbors family or foe?”). Both RaMP mentees would have the opportunity to learn techniques in experimental field ecology, as well as quantifying genetic diversity and fine-scale genetic structure across the geographic range of red backed salamanders. Mentees will design their tailored research projects to align with the expertise of either mentor.
Sean Sterrett, Ph.D.
Monmouth University
West Long Branch, New Jersey
The Sterrett Wildlife Ecology Lab at Monmouth University works on basic and applied research that contributes to improved decision making for wildlife populations. There are a number of challenges for understanding the movement ecology of particularly small organisms, such as Plethodontid salamanders, despite this information being critical for understanding how this group, and others like it, may adapt to climate change. More recently, several studies have demonstrated that PIT tag telemetry is a viable option for studying the movement of Plethodon salamanders with methods comparable to traditional approaches such as radiotelemetry. RaMP participants will design a set of studies for understanding the surface and/or vertical movements of red-backed salamander with the opportunity to compare these results to modeled space use estimates that are inherent in the spatial capture recapture framework of SPARCnet.
Louise Mead, Ph.D.
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan
The Mead Lab is focused on providing undergraduate students research experiences that generally involve developing and monitoring our local wildlife. Lab members participating in SPARCnet can expand their research to investigate behavior and communication through microcosms in established forests on campus or in the lab. In general, we focus on projects which test ecological and evolutionary hypotheses related to the mechanisms that impact population dynamics and variation among population and species. For example, current research projects related to SPARCnet include investigating territorial behavior and exploring the possible role bacteria have in intraspecific communication in red-back salamanders. SPARCnet RaMP students would have access to various tools and techniques needed to explore their research questions. We have educational and research plots set up on campus and the ability to create specific experimental set-ups in a forest on campus.
SPARCnet RaMP Co-Mentors for the 2025-2026 Cohort
Co-Mentor Vincent (Vinny) Farallo, Ph.D.
University of Scranton
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Working with Brandon Hedrick
Co-Mentor Caitlin Fisher-Reid, Ph.D.
Bridgewater State University
Bridgewater, Massachusetts
Working with Kristine Grayson and Stephanie Coster
Co-Mentor Kadrin Anderson, M.S.
Mary Baldwin University
Staunton, Virginia
Working with David McLeod
Co-Mentor Alexa Warwick, Ph.D.
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
Working with Louise Mead
Co-Mentor Elise Edwards, Ph.D.
United States Geological Survey
Turners Falls, Massachusetts
Working with Evan Grant
SPARCnet RaMP Coordinators
SPARCnet RaMP Research Coordinator
Carli Dinsmore, M.S.
Pennsylvania State University
State College, Pennsylvania
SPARCnet RaMP Program Coordinator
Bethany Ozolins, M.S.
Bridgewater State University
Bridgewater, Massachusetts