ESU Biology Professor Awarded Grant, will Spend Next Three Years with Rattlesnakes

Posted by: admin on February 18, 2015, No Comments

A fear that sends shivers down the spines of many people does not faze Thomas C. LaDuke, Ph.D., professor of biology at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, who was recently awarded a $221,329 grant from the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission to conduct a long-term population study of the timber rattlesnake in Pennsylvania.

“I just want to get my hands on some rattlesnakes,” Dr. LaDuke said.

For the next three years, Dr. LaDuke and his team will get their hands on a few rattlesnakes as they set up a monitoring program to examine rattlesnakes in Pennsylvania and watch for population decline.

It turns out that rattlesnakes are a special concern in the state.

“They are K-selected and produce few offspring,” Dr. LaDuke said. “The snakes need to be protected and we need to pay close attention to their ability to regenerate.”

Dr. LaDuke has spent most of his life paying close attention to snakes. Following in the footsteps of his father, also a biologist, snakes became one of his favorite things growing up. He became knowledgeable in where and when to look for snakes, and even wrote his dissertation on snakes while enrolled at the City University of New York.

“The best part about it is now I get to teach my favorite things and share my knowledge with students,” he said. “As an undergraduate, my professor told me there weren’t many opportunities in this field – but I told him there are always opportunities for people who are good at what they do.”

Dr. LaDuke has been teaching what he loves at ESU since 1991. Focusing his time on projects like this one is his way of keeping students engaged.

“Our students are deeply interested in this kind of work – so many come to the university because of it,” he said.

Two students, Kevin Juchno, a biology graduate student from Yardley, Pa., and Corey Janusz, a senior majoring in Biology from Basking Ridge, N.J., are part of Dr. LaDuke’s team for this study. They will join one other faculty member, Shixiong Hu, Ph.D., professor and chair of Geography, and volunteers across the area that will monitor the rattlesnakes.

As he gets ready for the next years of his study, Dr. LaDuke sees many sleepless nights ahead.

“I am ready for challenges that will double my workload,” he said. “I welcome this opportunity that allows me to do what I love and learn new things that will help me keep the lessons fresh for my students.”

This three-year project will run from May 2015 to May 2018. For further information, contact LaDuke at 570-422-3520.