Lee Fitzgerald
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Lee Fitzgerald (born 1955) is Professor of Zoology and Faculty Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles in the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences at
Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
. His biological specialty is the evolutionary ecology and conservation biology of amphibians and reptiles (
herpetology Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...
). Fitzgerald is a former editor of ''
Herpetological Monographs ''Herpetological Monographs'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering the zoology of amphibians and reptiles. It is published annually by the Herpetologists' League and was established in 1982. The League also publishes a quarterly peer-re ...
''.


Life

Fitzgerald was born in
Pasadena, Texas Pasadena () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 151,950, making it the twentieth most populous city in the state of Texas, as well as the second-largest cit ...
. He attended Pasadena High School and received an undergraduate degree at
Stephen F. Austin University } Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) is a public university in Nacogdoches, Texas. It was founded as a teachers' college in 1923 and subsequennly renamed after one of Texas's founding fathers, Stephen F. Austin. Its campus resides on part ...
of Texas. From 1979 until 1980, he was in the
Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...
in
El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
and worked with
iguanas ''Iguana'' (, ) is a genus of herbivorous lizards that are native to tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. The genus was first described in 1768 by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in his bo ...
, but returned early because of the civil war there. In 1980, he traveled to
Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
and worked with Norman J. Scott. He then studied at the
University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...
under Scott and finished his masters project in
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
before beginning his doctoral studies with Howard Snell. After receiving his PhD in 1993, he did post-doctoral work on Tegu lizard ecology and sustainable use as a conservation strategy in Paraguay. In 1996, Fitzgerald joined the faculty of
Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
, where he is Professor of Zoology and Faculty Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles in the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences.


Research

Fitzgerald and his research group work in Latin America and the southwestern United States. Their fieldwork concentrates on the ecological factors affecting reptiles, most notably the Tupinambis lizard and the dunes sagebrush lizard, ''
Sceloporus arenicolus The dunes sagebrush lizard (''Sceloporus arenicolus''), formerly known as the sand dune lizard and the dunes-sagebrush lizard, ''Sceloporus graciosus arenicolus'', a subspecies of sagebrush lizard), is an insectivorous spiny lizard species which ...
''.


Selected publications

*Fitzgerald, L.A.1 and contributors. (in press). Finding and Capturing Reptiles, Chapter 5 In M.S. Foster et al. (eds.) Measuring and Monitoring Biological Diversity, Standard Methods for Reptiles. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. (1Chapter coordinator) *Fitzgerald L.A. (in press). Studying and Monitoring Exploited Species. (in press). Chapter 12 In M.S. Foster et al. (eds.) Measuring and Monitoring Biological Diversity, Standard Methods for Reptiles. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. *Dayton, G.H. and L.A. Fitzgerald. 2011. The advantage of no defense: predation enhances cohort survival in a desert amphibian. Aquatic Ecology 45:325-333. (pdf) *Fitzgerald, L.A. and R.E. Nelson. 2011. Thermal biology and temperature-based habitat selection in a large aquatic ectotherm, the alligator snapping turtle, Macroclemys temminckii. Journal of Thermal Biology 36:160-166. (pdf) *Laurencio, L.R. and L.A. Fitzgerald. 2010. Atlas of distribution and habitat of the dunes sagebrush lizard (Sceloporus arenicolus) in New Mexico. Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collection, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843–2258. . *Fitzgerald, L.A. and Amanda L. Stronza. 2009. Applied Biodiversity Science: Integrating ecology, culture, and governance for effective conservation. Interciencia 34(8):1-8. (pdf) *Chan, L., L.A. Fitzgerald, Zamudio K. 2009. The scale of genetic differentiation in the Dunes Sagebrush-Lizard (Sceloporus arenicolus), an endemic habitat specialist. Conservation Genetics 10:131-142. (pdf) *Fitzgerald, L.A. and C.W. Painter. 2009. Sceloporus arenicolus. Pages 230-233 In. Lizards of the American Southwest: A Photographic Field Guide. Lawrence L.C. Jones and Rob Lovich (eds.). *Fitzgerald, L.A. 2009. Sceloporus merriami. in. Lizards of the American Southwest: A Photographic Field Guide. Lawrence L.C. Jones and Rob Lovich (eds.). *Fitzgerald, L.A. 2009. Plestiodon tetragrammus. Pages 463–465. Lizards of the American Southwest: A Photographic Field Guide. Lawrence L.C. Jones and Rob Lovich (eds.). *Fitzgerald, L.A. 2004 Amphibians and Reptiles. Chapter 10, In N. Wilkins (ed.), Texas Master Naturalists Curriculum Book. *Fitzgerald, L.A. 2003. Whiptail lizards, tegus and allies (Teiidae). Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. (pdf) *Fitzgerald, L.A. 2003. Microteiids (Gymnophthalmidae). Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. (pdf) *Fitzgerald, L.A. and C.W. Painter. 2000. Rattlesnake commercialization: long-term trends, issues, and implications for conservation. Wildlife Society Bulletin 28 (1): 235–253. (pdf) *Fitzgerald, L.A., J.A. Cook, and A.L. Aquino. 1999. The molecular phylogenetics and conservation of Tupinambis (Sauria: Teiidae). Copeia 1999 (4): 894-905 (pdf) *Fitzgerald, L.A., F. Cruz, and G. Perotti. 1999. Phenology of a lizard assemblage in the dry chaco of Argentina. Journal of Herpetology 33 (4): 526–535. (pdf) *Painter, C.W. and Fitzgerald L.A. 1999. Crotalus atrox. Morphology. Herpetological Review 30(1): 44 Texas A&
"Lab Publications"
Retrieved on 2 October 2011.


References


External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, Lee 1955 births Living people American herpetologists People from Pasadena, Texas Stephen F. Austin State University alumni University of New Mexico alumni Texas A&M University faculty Pasadena High School (Pasadena, Texas) alumni