Gordon W. Schuett (born March 5, 1957) is an American evolutionary ecologist who has conducted extensive research on

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

s. His work has focused primarily on

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

s, but he has also published on

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

s and

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

s. His most significant contributions have been to the studies of hormonal control of reproduction and behavior, winner-loser effects, long-term sperm storage, mate competition, and

parthenogenesis Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek grc, παρθένος, translit=parthénos, lit=virgin, label=none + grc, γένεσις, translit=génesis, lit=creation, label=none) is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development ...

Biography

Graduate research

Schuett received a master's degree in biology from

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

in 1986, under the academic guidance of James C. Gillingham. His 88-page thesis was titled "Selected Topics on Reproduction in the Copperhead, ''Agkistrodon contortrix'' (Serpentes, Viperidae)". Schuett then attended The University of Wyoming where he earned his Ph.D. in 1994 under the mentorship of David Duvall and James D. Rose. His dissertation, titled "Determinants of Fighting Success in Male Copperheads (Serpentes, Viperidae)," was a major contribution to the field of animal behavior and has since been featured in text booksPrinciples of Animal Behavior. Lee Alan Dugatkin. 2004. W.W. Norton and Company, New York. Pages: 495-496, and 500.

Postdoctoral research

After finishing his Ph.D., Schuett took a 1-year postdoctoral position under William Murdoch (

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

) studying hormone levels in both male and female copperheads during reproduction and male-male agonistic bouts. In 1993, he earned a 2-year postdoctoral position at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

. While there he successfully applied for an assistant professorship. Schuett has subsequently held positions at Georgia State University and

Zoo Atlanta Zoo Atlanta (sometimes referred as Atlanta Zoo) is an Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited zoological park in Atlanta, Georgia. The current president and CEO of Zoo Atlanta is Raymond B. King. History Zoo Atlanta was founded in ...

. Since 2003, Schuett has been an adjunct professor of biology at Georgia State University.

Publications

Schuett has published over 120 peer-reviewed journal articles, 21 peer reviewed book chapters, and more than 25 popular magazine articles, and he coauthored a zoology laboratory manual.Labs for Vertebrate Zoology : An Evolutionary Approach, 2nd Edition. Erik W. Gergus and Gordon W. Schuett. 2000. W.W. Norton and Company, Traverse City, Michigan. Pages: 495-496, 248 pp. Schuett has served as conference co-organizer and chief editor for two peer-reviewed scholarly volumes
Biology of the Vipers
which has been made available online, an
The Rattlesnakes of Arizona
some of which has been released online by individual authors. He coauthored the popular book Rattlesnakes of the Grand Canyon and was the founding editor of the journal ''Herpetological Natural History''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schuett, Gordon W. American evolutionary biologists Evolutionary ecologists American herpetologists 1957 births Living people