PhD Candidate
Division of Biological Sciences
212 Tucker Hall
University of Missouri
Columbia, MO  65211
e-mail: jjbxb3 <at> mail.missouri.edu

Research Interests

My research interests span a broad range of ecological concepts (landscape ecology, population connectivity, conservation genetics, and anthropogenic impact on the current and historical distribution of a species). Ultimately, I wish to elucidate the effect of landscape features on genetic connectivity, past and present, using GIS modeling, population genetics, and empirical data from the field.

I graduated from Central Michigan University with a B.S. in Biology – Natural Resources with a minor in GIS. As an undergraduate researcher at CMU (advisor: Brad Swanson), I investigated the population genetic structure of ringed seals (Pusa hispida). For this study I used both microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA markers to measure genetic differentiation between breeding sites within Hudson Bay and throughout the circumpolar arctic.

For my dissertation research, I am working on a collaborative project between the Semlitsch and Eggert labs. I plan to integrate spatial ecology and population genetic data in a landscape genetics project that investigates the source-sink metapopulation dynamics of Ambystoma annulatum (an Ozark endemic species and species of concern in Missouri) and Ambystoma maculatum at Fort Leonard Wood. The overarching goal of this research project is to synthesize information from studies on pond larval dynamics, juvenile dispersal, source-sink dynamics, and genetic structure into a better understanding of the distribution and life history of this relatively unstudied species.

Selected Publications:

Burkhart JJ, Peterman WE, Brocato ER, Romine KM, Willis MMS, Ousterhout BH, Anderson TL, Drake DL, Rowland FE, Semlitsch RD, and Eggert LS. 2017. The influence of breeding phenology on the genetic structure of four pond- breeding salamanders. Ecol Evol. 00:1–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3060

Ousterhout BH, and Burkhart JJ. 2017. Moving beyond the plane: measuring 3D home ranges of juvenile salamanders with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags. Behav Ecol Sociobiol. 71(4):59. DOI 10.1007/s00265-017-2284-6

Anderson TL, Ousterhout BH, Drake DL, Burkhart JJ, Rowland FE, Peterman WE, and Semlitsch RD. 2016. Differences in Larval Allometry among Three Ambystomatid Salamanders. Journal of Herpetology. 50(3):464-470. http://dx.doi.org/10.1670/15-178

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