Christopher Gienger

In addition to being a member of the Center of Excellence for Field Biology, my research involves investigating the diverse ways in which organisms interact with their environment. Most of the work that I do is at the interface between behavioral and physiological ecology. I also serve as the Curator of Herpetology in the David H. Snyder Museum of Zoology (Austin Peay State University). My personal website is https://cmgienger.github.io/ 

Research Methods, Zoological Diversity, Herpetology

Ecology and Conservation Biology, Herpetology, Physiological Ecology, Animal Energetics and Thermal Biology

• Ciafré, C.M., C.M. Gienger, E.M. Rehm, L.D. Estes. 2022. Deterministic and stochastic factors jointly drive plant community composition and diversity in isolated wetlands. Wetlands 42(7):71.

• Thiem, L.R. and C.M. Gienger. 2022. Hold on for one more day: Energetic costs of oviductal egg retention in Eastern Musk Turtles (Sternotherus odoratus). Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 95(4):279-287.

• Moniz, H.A., M.A. Richard, C.M. Gienger, and C.R. Feldman. 2022. Every breath you take: assessing metabolic costs of toxin resistance in garter snakes (Thamnophis). Integrative Zoology 17:567-580.

• Grady, J.T., L.M. Bower, C.M. Gienger, and R.E. Blanton. 2022. Fish scale shape follows predictable patterns of variation based on water column position and body size. Evolutionary Ecology 36:93-116.

• Hromada, S.J., M.G. Iacchetta, B.J. Beas, J.P. Flaherty, M.C. Fulbright, K.H. Wild, A.F. Scott, C.M. Gienger. 2021. Low-intensity agriculture shapes amphibian and reptile communities: Insights from a ten-year monitoring study. Herpetologica 77(4):294-306.

• Flaherty, J.P. and C.M. Gienger. 2020. Habitat selection and movement patterns of Copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix) in fire-altered landscapes. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 15(1)150-159.

• Spencer, M.M., M. Pierson, and C.M. Gienger. 2020. Comparative energetics and thermal responses to feeding in allied Agkistrodon snakes with contrasting diet and habitat use. Journal of Comparative Physiology B. 190(3):329-339.

• Mueller, A. and C.M. Gienger. 2019. Comparative thermal ecology of Copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix) and Cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus). Journal of Thermal Biology 79:73-80.

• Iacchetta, M.G., K.N. Maloney, and C.M. Gienger. 2019. Endocrine stress response of Eastern Fence Lizards in fire-disturbed landscapes. Current Zoology 65(6):643-650.

• Gienger, C.M., N.A. Dochtermann, and C.R. Tracy. 2019. Detecting trends in body size: Empirical and statistical requirements for intra-specific analyses. Current Zoology 65(5):493-497.

• Wild, K.H. and C.M. Gienger. 2018. Fire-disturbed landscapes induce phenotypic plasticity in lizard locomotor performance. Journal of Zoology 305(2):96-105.

• Hromada, S.J., C.A.F. Howey, M.B. Dickinson, R.W. Perry, W.M. Roosenberg, and C.M. Gienger. 2018. Response of reptile and amphibian communities to the reintroduction of fire in an oak/hickory forest. Forest Ecology and Management 428:1-13.

• Gienger, C.M. and E. Urdiales. 2017. Individual and thermal influences on standard metabolism in Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina). Chelonian Conservation and Biology 16(2):159-163.

• Gienger, C.M., M.L. Brien, C.R. Tracy, S.C. Manolis, G.J.W. Webb, R.S. Seymour, and K.A. Christian. 2017. Ontogenetic comparisons of standard metabolism in three species of crocodilians. PLoS ONE 12(2):e0171082.

• Gienger, C.M., C.R. Tracy, and K.A. Nagy. 2014. Life in the lizard slow-lane: Gila monsters have low rates of energy use and water flux. Copeia 2014(2):279-287.

• Gienger, C.M., C.R. Tracy, and L.C. Zimmerman. 2013. Thermal responses to feeding in a secretive and specialized predator (Gila monster, Heloderma suspectum). Journal of Thermal Biology 38(3):143-147.

• Gienger, C.M., C.R. Tracy, M.L. Brien, S.C. Manolis, G.J.W. Webb, R.S. Seymour, and K.A. Christian. 2012. Energetic costs of digestion in Australian crocodiles. Australian Journal of Zoology 59(6): 416-421 

• Gienger, C.M. and D.D. Beck. 2011. Northern Pacific rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus) use thermal and structural cues to choose overwintering hibernacula. Canadian Journal of Zoology 89: 1084-1090.