Robert Gegear

faculty

Robert Gegear, PhD

Associate Professor

Biology

Contact

508-910-6903

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Science & Engineering 335A

Education

2010University of Massachusetts Medical SchoolPostdoc
2006University of TorontoPostdoc
2002Western UniversityPhD

Teaching

Programs

Teaching

Courses

Students with senior standing (or others with consent of the instructor) report on and discuss current biological problems as presented in principle journals, abstracts and reviews. The work of each seminar is usually built upon a single unifying content area.

Students with senior standing (or others with consent of the instructor) report on and discuss current biological problems as presented in principle journals, abstracts and reviews. The work of each seminar is usually built upon a single unifying content area.

The study of comparative and evolutionary aspects of behavior of invertebrate and vertebrate animals. Structure and function of nervous systems, simple behavioral patterns including reflexes and other forms of innate behavior as well as more complex patterns including learning and social behavior are stressed.

The study of comparative and evolutionary aspects of behavior of invertebrate and vertebrate animals. Structure and function of nervous systems, simple behavioral patterns including reflexes and other forms of innate behavior as well as more complex patterns including learning and social behavior are stressed.

One to four hours in varied formats Selected topics in Biology. In recent years these have included physiology and biochemistry of marine animals, evolutionary ecology, biology of marine mammals, morphometrics and phylogenetic systematics, and extremophiles.

The study of comparative and evolutionary aspects of behavior of invertebrate and vertebrate animals. Structure and function of nervous systems, simple behavioral patterns including reflexes and other forms of innate behavior as well as more complex patterns including learning and social behavior are stressed.

Terms and hours to be arranged. Graded A-F.

Terms and hours to be arranged. Graded A-F.

Investigations of a fundamental and/or applied nature culminating in an original contribution to the scholarly research literature of Integrative Biology. Doctoral research contributes to the student's dissertation and should be presented at major conferences and ultimately published in refereed journals. A written dissertation must be completed and defended in accordance with the rules of the Graduate School and the Integrative Biology PhD Program.

Research

Research awards

  • $ 599,926 awarded by National Science Foundation for Connecting Undergraduates to Biodiversity Instruction through Citizen Science (CUBICS)
  • $ 8,799 awarded by Landscape Interactions LLC for MA Lawn Conversion Project
  • $ 3,399 awarded by Landscape Interactions LLC for NY Pollinate Now!

Research

Research interests

  • Conservation of native pollination systems
  • Neuroecology of plant-pollinator interactions
  • Multi-modal sensory integration
  • Floral evolution
  • Bumblebee ecology

Select publications

  • Gegear, RJ., Heath, K., and EF Ryder (2021).
    Modeling scale up of anthropogenic impacts from individual pollinator behavior to pollination systems
    Conservation Biology, 35, 1519-1529.
  • Gegear, RJ (2021).
    Exploring the Role of Cognition in the Annual Fall Migration of the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)
    Insects, 12, 760.
  • Burdon RCF, Raguso R, Gegear RJ, Scofield D, Kessler A, Pierce E, and AL Parachnowitsch (2020).
    Scented nectar and the challenge of measuring honest signals in pollination
    Journal of Ecology, 108, 2132–2144.

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