Jessica Lynne Bunkers

Jessica Lynn Malisch

Ph.D. in Biology, University of California, Riverside, 2007

B.S. Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington (1999)

Dissertation Comittee Chair: Theodore Garland, Jr.

I am interested in the intersection of behavioral endocrinology with ecological and evolutionary physiology.  My dissertation research involves the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis of mice that have been selectively bred for high voluntary wheel running.  This study is aimed at providing insight into the processes by which the HPA axis can respond evolutionarily to changing physiological demands on an organism.  With support through the Center for Conservation Biology (CCB), I am also studying the effects of proximity to a major road on the HPA axis and reproductive success in desert iguanas (Dipsosaurus dorsalis), work that has implications for conservation biology.  This work is done in collaboration with Dr. Henry John-Alder.

In April of 2008, I will begin a postdoctoral position with Dr. Creagh W. Breuner at the University of Montana.
 
Publications:

Bunkers, J. L., F. Gomes, E. L. Rezende, W. Saltzman, and T. Garland, Jr. 2003. Plasma corticosterone of mice selectively bred for high voluntary wheel running: levels at rest and following restraint stress. Integrative and Comparative Biology 43:839. (abstract)

Gomes, F. R., E. L. Rezende, J. L. Bunkers, and T. Garland, Jr. 2003. Organ masses and carbohydrate metabolism of mice artificially selected for high voluntary wheel running. Integrative and Comparative Biology 43:912. (abstract)

Rezende, E. L., M. A. Chappell, F. R. Gomes, J. L. Malisch, and T. Garland, Jr. 2005. Maximal metabolic rates during voluntary exercise, forced exercise, and cold exposure in house mice selectively bred for high wheel-running. Journal of Experimental Biology 208:2447-2458.  [PDF file]

Rezende, E. L., T. Garland, Jr., M. A. Chappell, J. L. Malisch, and F. R. Gomes. 2006. Maximum aerobic performance in lines of Mus selected for high wheel-running activity: effects of selection, oxygen availability, and the mini-muscle phenotype. Journal of Experimental Biology 209:115-127. [PDF file]

Rezende, E. L., F. R. Gomes, J. L. Malisch, M. A. Chappell, and T. Garland, Jr. 2006. Maximal oxygen consumption in relation to subordinate traits in lines of house mice selectively bred for high voluntary wheel running. Journal of Applied Physiology 101:477-485.  [PDF file]

Malisch, J. L., W. Saltzman, F. R. Gomes, E. L. Rezende, D. R. Jeske, and T. Garland, Jr. 2007. Baseline and stress-induced plasma corticosterone concentrations of mice selectively bred for high  voluntary wheel running. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 80:146-156.  [PDF file]

Malisch, J. L., C. W. Breuner, F. R Gomes, M. A. Chappell, and T. Garland, Jr. 2008. Circadian pattern of total and free corticosterone concentrations, corticosteroid-binding globulin, and physical activity in mice selectively bred for high voluntary wheel-running behavior. General and Comparative Endocrinology 156:210-217.  [PDF file]

Malisch, J. L., S. A. Kelly, A. Bhanvadia, K. M. Blank, R. L. Marsik, E. G. Platzer, and T. Garland, Jr. In review. Lines of mice with chronically elevated baseline corticosterone are more susceptible to a parasitic nematode infection. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A, Ecological Genetics and Physiology.

Malisch, J. L., C. W. Breuner, E. M. Kolb, H. Wada, R. M. Hannon, M. A. Chappell, K. M. Middleton, and T. Garland, Jr. In preparation. Behavioral despair, home-cage activity, and corticosteroid receptor capacity in mice with chronically elevated baseline corticosterone concentrations.

Yan, R. H., J. L. Malisch, R. M. Hannon, P. L. Hurd, and T. Garland, Jr. In preparation. Selective breeding for a behavioral trait changes digit ratio.

 

Last updated by T.G. 17 March 2008