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, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

. His biological specialty is the evolutionary ecology and conservation biology of amphibians and reptiles (

herpetology Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...

). 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, located in Harris County. It is part of the metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 151,950, making it the 23rd most populous city in Texas and the second mos ...

. He attended Pasadena High School and received an undergraduate degree at Stephen F. Austin University of Texas. From 1979 until 1980, he was in the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of 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 by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

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 by Austrian naturalist J.N. Laurenti in 1768. Two species are plac ...

, but returned early because of the civil war there. In 1980, he traveled to

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

and worked with Norman J. Scott. He then studied at the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

under Scott and finished his masters project in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

before beginning his doctoral studies with

Howard Snell Howard L. Snell (born 1953) is an American ecologist and professor at the University of New Mexico. His research and conservation efforts have focused on the Galapagos land iguanas, which were in danger of extinction. Biography Snell was born ...

. 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

, 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''.

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