Peter L. Starkweather

Professor and Dean, Honors College

Ph.D. Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire

Aquatic Ecology; Invertebrate Life Histories and Ecophysiology

peter.starkweather@unlv.edu

Zooplankton are the most abundant aquatic animals on earth, and are central players in both community function and the energetics of oceans, lakes and ponds – even those in the desert! My research focuses on aspects of zooplankton ecology and evolution, from feeding behavior and population dynamics to biogeography, physiological ecology and – most recently – life history ecological genomics.

Selected Publications

• Starkweather, P.L., M.R. Miracle, E. Vicente, A. Picazo and J. Vidal. (2005) Diel distribution and migration of Chaoborus flavicans: a field analysis using broadband Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) techniques. Verh. Internat. Verein. Limnol. 29:672-677.
• Starkweather, P.L. (2005) Susceptibility of ephemeral pool Hexarthra to predation by the fairy shrimp Branchinecta mackini: can predation drive local extinction? Hydrobiologia 546:503-508.
• Wallace, R.L., E.J. Walsh, M.L. Bonilla and P.L. Starkweather. (2005) Life on the edge: rotifers from springs and ephemeral waters in the Chihuahuan Desert, Big Bend National Park (Texas, USA). Hydrobiologia 546:147-157.
• Starkweather, P.L., N. Vaskov and T.C. Ng. (2003) Population dynamics and life history patterns of branchiopod crustaceans in Mojave Desert ephemeral rock pools. Verh. Internat. Verein. Limnol., 27:1-4.
• Hampton, S.E. and P.L. Starkweather (1998) Differences in predation among morphotypes of the rotifer Asplanchna silvestrii. Freshwater Biology 40:595-605.
• Grimm, N.B., A. Chacon, C.C. Dahm, O.T. Lind, P.L. Starkweather and W.W. Wursbaugh (1997) Sensitivity to climate change of aquatic ecosystems in the Basin and Range, American Southwest, and Mexico. Hydrologic Processes 11:1023-1041.
• Starkweather, P. L. (1996) Sensory potential and feeding in rotifers: structural and behavioral aspects of diet selection in ciliated zooplankton. pp. 255-266. In: "Zooplankton sensory ecology and physiology", Lenz, P.H., D.K. Hartline, J.E. Purcell and D.L. Macmillan (eds.). Gordon and Breach Publishers.