UMass Boston

Robert Stevenson

Department:
Biology
Title:
Associate Professor U Of M
Location:
Wheatley Hall Floor 03

Areas of Expertise

Animal Physiology 

Degrees

PhD, University of Washington, 1983
MS, University of Washington, 1979
BS, Tufts University, 1974

Professional Publications & Contributions

Research Interests

Physiological Ecology; Conservation Biology; Biodiversity Informatics; Instrumentation; Energetics; Temperature Regulation; Muscle Physiology; Allometry; Insect Flight; Invertebrate Conservation; Citizen Science; Biology of Moths and Butterflies. 

Research in Robert Stevenson's laboratory focuses on physiological ecology applied to conservation biology and on biodiversity informatics for citizen science. The physiological work is centered on biomechanics and energetics in butterflies and hawkmoths. Studies currently underway range from behavioral observations on feeding and time budgets to developing instrumentation to record flight patterns in the field. This conservation physiology framework is specifically being applied to migratory butterflies.

The lab's informatics work, in conjunction with Robert Morris in the Computer Science Department, focuses on the construction of electronic field guides. They are producing prototype guides, constructing and testing keys, and making field observations using new GPS and PDA tools. They are using object-oriented databases and XML to produce extensible software and user friendly interfaces.