My interests are at the interface of physiology and ecology; I am intrigued by how organisms adapt to shifts in their environment. Currently, I am investigating dispersal in grasshoppers. In response to environmental variations, many species of insects develop an increase in the frequency of migratory forms adapted for dispersal. Of these, the most dramatic and best studied are the migratory grasshoppers (locusts), which have historically caused major devastations globally.

Part of my dissertation research is based in China, on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia and part in southern Arizona. I am examining relationships among plant stoichiometry and grasshopper population density, performance, and dispersal.

I am co-advised by Drs. Jim Elser and Jon Harrison.

Cease, A.J., Lutterschmidt, D.I. and Mason, R.T. (2007). Corticosterone and the transition from courtship behavior to dispersal in male red-sided garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis). General and Comparative Endocrinology. 150 (1), 24-131.