Faculty & Research

Contact Info:
Department of Biology
Tufts University
Dana Hall, room 222A
Medford, MA 02155

Tel: 617.627.3199
Fax: 617.627.3805
Email Dr. Pechenik

Laboratory website
Publications
Writing Workshops
Curriculum Vitae

Jan A. Pechenik
Professor
Invertebrate Zoology and Marine Biology

Education

B.A., Zoology, Duke University
Ph.D., Biological Oceanography, University of Rhode Island

Graduate Research Area: Ecology, Behavior and Evolution

Research Interests

Marine invertebrates show a remarkable range of reproductive and developmental patterns. I am especially interested in understanding the costs and benefits associated with these different patterns. Our research is driven by the questions we ask, rather than by the features of any particular group of animals. One of my lifetime goals is to publish one paper on every major animal group. I still need to do studies on sponges, cnidarians, and nematodes: I'm open to collaboration!  Over the years, I have worked with gastropods, bivalves, chitons, polychaetes, crustaceans, parasitic flatworms, colonial ascidians, and bryozoans. The research presently going on in my lab considers the following major issues:

1. To what extent do sublethal larval stresses (e.g., food limitation, exposure to pollutants, delayed metamorphosis) affect the fitness of individuals after they metamorphose?
2. What role does nitric oxide play in controlling metamorphosis of the marine gastropod Crepidula fornicata.
3. How are slipper limpets (Crepidula fornicata) adapted for life in the intertidal zone? What are the physiological differences between intertidal and subtidal individuals of this species.

Courses

Bio 164: Marine Biology
Bio 179: Marine Biology Seminar
Bio 51: Experiments in Ecology