Associate Professor
Biology

Expertise:  Plant metabolism, biofuel development from crop residues, genetic engineering

Faculty Positions:

• Associate Professor, VMI Biology, 2014 to 2014
• Assistant Professor, VMI Biology, 2008 to 2014
• Visiting Assistant Professor, Washington and Lee, 2007-2008
• Visiting Assistant Professor, James Madison University, 2006-2007
• Visiting Assistant Professor, Lynchburg College, 2005-2006
• Adjunct Professor, Bridgewater College, 2004-2005 
• VMI Awards Faculty Development Leave, Fall 2012: “Selecting a soybean cultivar for genetic engineering of biofuel traits, with opportunities for cadet research.”
• USDA Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Virginia Tech, 2002-2004: “Investigating the roles of flavonols in plants through molecular analyses of flavonol synthase isoforms.”

Publications:

• Alerding, A.B. and *R.M. Hunter “Increased springtail abundance in a garlic mustard invaded forest,” accepted by Northeastern Naturalist in October 2012.
• *Waalkes, M.R. and A.B. Alerding. 2011. Possible chemical attractant to white tail deer in Campanulastrum americanum. New Horizons: VMI Journal of Undergraduate Writing 5:79-88.
• Alerding, A.B. Garlic mustard: friend or foe? Virginia Native Plant Society Upper James River Chapter Newsletter, Spring 2011, pp. 3-5.
• Owens, D.K., A.B. Alerding, K.C. Crosby, A.B. Bandara, J.H. Westwood, and B.S.J. Winkel. 2008. Functional analysis of a predicted flavonol synthase gene family in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiology 147:1046-1061.

Research:

• Conducting research, especially as a mentor to undergraduates, is an invigorating part of my position at VMI. The foundation of my research program is its interdisciplinary nature. I am a plant biologist trained in physiological, molecular, ecological, and biochemical techniques and it is the hypothesis that drives my research rather than the organism. Focusing on how plants partition carbon resources acquired by photosynthesis to produce unique chemistries, I have worked on unicellular algae, parsley cells in suspension culture, tobacco, soybean, and the genetic model, Arabidopsis. I have completed a project examining community ecology aspects of an invasive species, garlic mustard, and its impact on understory forest communities. Currently, my laboratory is one of three components of the new VMI CLEAR (Clean Energy and Air Resources) center that Drs. Moore, Pennington and I began in fall 2011. This center is working to train a workforce of students to develop sources of sustainable energy from plant biomass residues. The other components are housed in Civil Engineering Department, optimizing biofuel production from crop residues, and in the Department of English and Fine Arts which focuses on developing communication skills in our trained researchers. The research that I am conducting involves the development of a genetically modified plant, the Virginia soybean, to will produce high seed yield and optimized cell wall biomolecules enabling use of its stem residues as a fuel crop. My goal is to apply fundamental knowledge about plant chemistry to the genetic engineering of a dual-use food and fuel crop plant to be cultivated on the same plot of land.

Instructor
Biology

Wade Bell CV

Professor
Biology

Professor
Biology

Curriculum Vitae

Expertise: Molecular biology, genetics, and DNA biogeography of the distribution of noxious microorganisms

Faculty Positions:

• UMass Dartmouth, Biology Department, 2005-2009
  Longwood University, Department of Biological and Environmental Science, 2009-2010
  Virginia Military Institute, 2010-Present
• NASA Exobiology Post-Doctoral Fellow, Harvard University, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, 2003-200

Instructor
Biology

Instructor
Biology and Chemistry

Assistant Professor
Biology

Professor
Biology

Teaching:  I teach courses ranging from introductory biology to upper level courses such as ecology, vertebrate biology, biostatistics, environmental issues, and tropical marine biology.  Many of my upper-level courses have a strong experiential/field component to provide hands-on learning opportunities and encourage a deeper level of understanding.

Research: Bat Ecology and Conservation  

Publications:

• Moosman, P.R., Jr., E.K. Pody*, D.M. Marsh, and T.J. Brust*. 2023. Differential selection of roosts by Eastern Small-footed Myotis relative to rock structure and microclimate. Journal of Mammalogy https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyad037
• Grilliot, M.E., Tracy, W.A.*, and Moosman, P.R. 2023. Geographic distribution note of little brown skink (Scincella lateralis) in Rockbridge County, Virginia. Herpetological Review 54 (1)
• Alston, J.M., D.A. Keinath, C.K.R. Willis, C.L. Lausen, J.M. O’Keefe, J.D. Tyburec, H.G. Broders, P.R. Moosman, T.C. Carter, C.L. Chambers, E.H. Gillam, K. Geluso, T.J Weller, D.W. Burles, Q.E. Fletcher, K.J.O. Norquay, and J.R. Goheen. 2023. Environmental drivers of body size in North American bats. Functional Ecology 37:1020-1032. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14287
• Reynolds, D.S., K. Shoemaker, S. von Oettingen, S. Najjar, J.P. Veilleux, and P.R. Moosman. 2021. Integrating multiple survey techniques to document a shifting bat community in the wake of white-nose syndrome. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management 12:395–411. https://doi.org/10.3996/JFWM-20-043
• Moosman, P.R., Jr., D. Marsh, E.K. Pody, M.P. Dannon, and R.J. Reynolds. 2020. Efficacy of visual surveys for monitoring populations of talus-roosting bats. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management 11:1-12. DOI: 10.3996/122019-NAF-002
• Moosman, P.R., Jr., P.R. Anderson, and M.G. Frasier. 2017. Use of rock-crevices in winter by big brown bats and eastern small-footed bats in the Appalachian Ridge and Valley of Virginia. Banisteria 48:9-13.
• Hann, Z.A., M.J. Hosler, and P.R. Moosman, Jr. 2017. Roosting habits of two eastern red bats (Lasiurus borealis) in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Northeastern Naturalist, 24.
• Huth, J.K., A. Silvis, P.R. Moosman, Jr., W.M. Ford, and S. Sweeten. 2015. A comparison of survey methods for documenting presence of Myotis leibii (eastern small-footed bats) at roosting areas in western Virginia. Virginia Journal of Science, 66:413-425.
• Moosman, P.R., Jr., D.P. Warner, R.H. Hendren, M.J. Hosler. 2015. Potential for monitoring eastern small-footed bats on talus slopes. Northeastern Naturalist, 22:1-13.
• Moosman, P. R., Jr., J. P. Veilleux, G. W. Pelton, and H. H. Thomas. 2013. Changes in capture rates in a community of bats in New Hampshire during the progression of white-nose syndrome. Northeastern Naturalist, 20:552-558.
• Thomas, H. H., P. R. Moosman, Jr., J. Pierre Veilleux, and J. Holt. 2012. Foods of bats (Family Vespertilionidae) from five sites in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Canadian Field-Naturalist, 126:117-124.
• Moosman, P. R., Jr., H. H. Thomas, and J. P. Veilleux. 2012. Diet of the widespread insectivorous bats Eptesicus fuscus and Myotis lucifugus relative to climate and richness of bat communities. Journal of Mammalogy 92:491-496.
• Austin, K. B., P. R. Moosman, and H. H. Thomas. 2011. Eavesdropping on echolocation: Recording the bat's auditory experience. Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC, 2011 Annual International Conference of the IEEE, pp.7682-7686, Aug. 30 2011-Sept. 3 2011.
• Sharkey, E. K., A. South, P. R. Moosman, C. K. Cratsley, & S. M. Lewis. 2010. Assessing condition-dependence of male flash signals in Photinus fireflies. Journal of Insect Behavior 23:215-225.
• Moosman, P. R., Jr., C. K. Cratsley, S. D. Lehto, and H. H. Thomas. 2009. Do courtship flashes of fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) serve as aposematic signals to insectivorous bats? Animal Behaviour 78:1019-1025.
• Austin, K. B., H. H. Thomas, P. R. Moosman, Jr., P. Lustig, B. Crepeau, B. Huff, K. Veasna, M. Tatro, & R. Farnsworth. 2009. Capturing the auditory experience of behaving bats: a preliminary study. Proceedings of the International Conference of Computing in Engineering, Science, and Information, pp. 123-126.
• Veilleux, J. P., P. R. Moosman, Jr., D. S. Reynolds, K. A. LaGory, L. J. Walston, Jr. 2009. Observations on summer roosting and foraging behavior of a hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) in southern New Hampshire. Northeastern Naturalist 16:148-152.
• Veilleux, J. P., H. H. Thomas, and P. R. Moosman, Jr. 2008. Bats of Pisgah State Park, New Hampshire. Northeastern Naturalist 15:25-34.
• Moosman, P. R., Jr., H. H. Thomas, and J. P. Veilleux. 2007. Food habits of eastern small-footed bats (Myotis leibii) in New Hampshire. American Midland Naturalist 158:354-360.
• Moosman, D. L. and P. R. Moosman, Jr. 2006. Subcutaneous movements of visible implant elastomers in wood frogs (Rana sylvatica). Herpetological Review 37:300-301.
• White, J. A., P. R. Moosman, Jr., C. H. Kilgore, and T. L. Best. 2006. First record of the eastern pipistrelle (Pipistrellus subflavus) from southern New Mexico. Southwestern Naturalist 51:420-422.
• Moosman, D. L., and P. R. Moosman, Jr. 2005. Natural History Note: Bufo americanus, Rana catesbeiana, Microhabitat. Herpetological Review 36:298.
• Moosman, P. R., Jr., D. L. Moosman, and J. C. Pillow. 2005. Geographic distribution. Ambystoma talpoideum (mole salamander). Herpetological Review 36:198.
• Williams, M. I., R. D. Birkhead, P. R. Moosman, Jr., and S. M. Boback. 2004. Agkistrodon piscivorus (eastern cottonmouth) diet. Herpetological Review 35:271-272.
• Palmer-Ball, B., Jr. and P. R. Moosman, Jr. 2002. Some notes from the 2001 breeding season. The Kentucky Warbler 78.

Instructor
Biology

Professor
Biology

Specialty: My general area of specialization is vertebrate biology. Specifically, I teach courses in anatomy (Comparative Vertebrate Morphology, Developmental Biology, and Histology) and vertebrate biology (Animal Behavior and Ornithology).

Research: My research focuses on two aspects of avian biology.  First, my students and I have been investigating nest defense behavior in Tree Swallows.  Specifically, we have been examining the reaction of nesting birds to the presence of a nest competitor or a predator.  Second, I am interested in the diversity of the avifauna of Rockbridge County, VA.  I have combined historical records and recent records to create a detailed account of each species found in the area.

Professor 
Biology 

Expertise:  Parasitology, Invertebrate Zoology, Nematology, Evolutionary biology, systematics, and taxonomy, Marine free-living nematodes 
 
Research: My research focuses on the evolution and ecology of invertebrate animals. While my primary research interest is in the evolution and diversity of free-living nematodes, students in my lab also research other invertebrates, especially parasites. 

Free-living marine nematodes —  Marine sediments support by far the greatest diversity of nematode species, and I aim to understand their diversity, evolution, and taxonomy. 

Parasite ecology and evolution — My students and I study a variety of parasitic worms.  Examples include the diversity and distribution of leeches infecting turtles, the community of parasites in muskrats, and the attraction of a beetle host to a larval tapeworm. 
 
Select publications: 

• Mohammed Ahmed, Nickellaus G. Roberts, Funmilola Adedidran, Ashleigh B. Smythe, Kevin M. Kocot and Oleksandr Holovachov. 2022. Phylogenomic analysis of the phylum Nematoda: conflicts and congruences with morphology, 18S rRNA, and mitogenomes. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Vol. 9, January, 2022.
• Ashleigh B.  Smythe.  2020.  Nematoda and Pan-Nematoda.  In: First Book of Phylogenetically Defined Names: A Companion to the PhyloCode.  K. de Queiroz, P. Cantino, and J. Gauthier, eds.  University of California Press. 
  Ashleigh B. Smythe, Oleksandr Holovachov, Kevin M. Kocot. 2019.  Improved phylogenomic sampling of free-living nematodes enhances resolution of higher-level nematode phylogeny. BMC Evolutionary Biology 19:121. 
• Elizabeth S. Hill, Ashleigh B. Smythe, Deborah A. Delaney. 2015. Assessing the role of environmental conditions on efficacy rates of Heterorhabditis indica (Nematoda: Heterorhabditidae) for controlling Aethina tumida (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) in honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colonies: a citizen science approach. Journal of Economic Entomology volume 109 (1). 
• Ashleigh B. Smythe.  2015.  Evolution of feeding structures in the marine nematode order Enoplida.  Integrative and Comparative Biology 55(2): 228-240. 
• Soraya Naem and Ashleigh B. Smythe. 2015. Tegumental ultrastructure of adult Quinqueserialis quinquiserialis (Trematoda: Notocotylidae): an intestinal parasite of muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus). Parasitology Research 114 (7): 2473-2480. 
• Ashleigh B. Smythe, Kristin Forgrave*, Amanda Patti*, Rick Hochberg, and Marian Litvaitis. 2015. Untangling the ecology, taxonomy, and evolution of Chaetogaster limnaei (Oligochaeta: Naididae) species complex. Journal of Parasitology 101(3) p. 320-326. (*Undergraduate co-author) 
• Inga A. Zasada, Amy Peetz, Dana K. Howe, Larry J. Wilhelm, Daravuth Cheam, Dee R. Denver, Ashleigh B. Smythe.  2014.  Using mitogenomic and nuclear ribosomal sequence data to investigate the phylogeny of virus-vectoring Xiphinema americanum-group nematodes. PLoS One Vol. 9 (2). 
• Ashleigh B. Smythe. 2012. Nematological Examination. In: Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater. Ed. S. J. Posavec. 22nd ed. American Public Health Association Washington, DC, American Water Works Association. 
• Ashleigh B. Smythe and W. Duane Hope. 2008. Nematodes of Plummers Island, Maryland. Bulletin of the Biological Society of Washington 15(1): 13-19.  
• Ashleigh B. Smythe, Michael J. Sanderson, and Steven A. Nadler. 2006. Nematode small subunit phylogeny correlates with alignment parameters. Systematic Biology 55(6): 972-992. 
• Ashleigh B. Smythe and Steven A. Nadler. 2006. Molecular phylogeny of Acrobeloides and Cephalobus (Nematoda, Cephalobina) reveals paraphyletic taxa and recurrent evolution of simple labial morphology. Nematology 8(6): 819-836. 
• Steven A. Nadler, Paul De Ley, Manuel Mundo-Ocampo, Ashleigh B. Smythe, S. Patricia Stock, Dan Bumbarger,
• Byron J. Adams, Irma Tandingan De Ley, Oleksandr Holovachov, and James G. Baldwin. 2006. Phylogeny of Cephalobina (Nematoda): Molecular evidence for recurrent evolution of probolae and incongruence with traditional classifications. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 40 (3):696-711. 
• A.B. Smythe and W.F. Font. 2001. Phylogenetic analysis of Alloglossidium (Digenea: Macroderoididae) and related genera: Life-cycle evolution and taxonomic revision. Journal of Parasitology 87 (2): 386-391.