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Academics: School of Arts & Sciences

John Dilustro Assistant Professor of Biology Chairman Biology Department

"I enjoy the small feel of Chowan. I grew up about an hour away, and it feels like home to me. It's a place where I get to know the students as freshmen in the introductory class, and then follow them through their career. Chowan is located in an area of North Carolina which is outstanding as a classroom for ecology and forest and plant biology."

Education:
Dr. John Dilustro received his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Virginia Commonwealth University. After that, he went to Old Dominion University where he first received a Masters degree in Biology and then a Doctorate degree in Ecological Sciences. He did his post-doctoral fellowship with The Savannah River Ecology Lab at the University of Georgia. Dr. Dilustro joined Chowan University in 2005.

Courses Taught:
Environmental Science
Principles of Ecology
Plant Diversity
Senior Seminar
General Biology

Selected Publications:
Lajeunesse, S. D., J. J. Dilustro, R. R. Sharitz, and B.S. Collins. 2006. Ground layer carbon and nitrogen cycling and legume nitrogen inputs following fire in mixed pine forests. American Journal of Botany 93: 84-93.

Day, F.P., D. Stover, A.L. Pagel, B.A. Hungate, J.J. Dilustro, B.T. Herbert, B. Drake and C.R. Hinkle. 2006. Effects of seven years of exposure to elevated atmospheric CO2 on fine root abundance in an oak-scrub ecosystem in central Florida, USA. Global Change Biology 12: 1047-1053.

Dilustro, J.J., B. Collins, L. Duncan and C. Crawford. 2005. Moisture and soil texture effects on soil CO2 efflux components in southeastern mixed pine forests. Forest Ecology and Management. 204: 87-97.

Dilustro, J.J., F.P. Day, C.R. Hinkle and B.G. Drake. 2002. Abundance, production and mortality of fine roots under elevated atmospheric CO2 in an oak-scrub ecosystem. Environmental and Experimental Botany 48:149-159.

Dilustro J.J., B. Collins, L. Duncan and R. Sharitz. 2002. Soil texture, land use intensity, and vegetation of Fort Benning upland forest sites. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 129: 289-297.

Dilustro, J.J., F. P. Day and B.G. Drake. 2001. Effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 on root decomposition in a scrub oak ecosystem. Global Change Biology 7: 581-591.

Day, F.P., E. Crawford, and J.J. Dilustro. 2001. Plant biomass change along a coastal barrier island dune chronosequence over a six-year period. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 128: 197-207.

 

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Ron Stephens Associate Professor of Biology

"Teaching students and watching them achieve success in their pursuit of academic goals has always been exciting to me. Meeting a student after they have graduated and hearing that I might have had a small role in their being successful in reaching their career goals continues to motivate me to teach. At Chowan University with our small classes, I have the opportunity to connect with my students."

Education:
Ronald Stephens received his Bachelor of Arts degree and his Master of Science degree in Biology from East Tennessee State University. He then received a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Education from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Dr. Stephens joined Chowan University in 2003.

Courses Taught:
Human Anatomy
Human Physiology
Genetics
General Biology
Senior Seminar

Awards:
National Foundation Research Grant
Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation Research Grant
ACA Technology Grant
ACA/Mellon Fund Fellowship
ACA/Burroughs Welcome Fellowship
National Science Foundation Summer Fellowship
Chautauqua Fellowship

 

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Heather L. McGuire Assistant Professor of Biology

"I am a wildlife biologist with an interest in the conservation and management of rare or endangered animal populations. I have extensive field experience, and I believe that the best classrooms and laboratories often have no walls or doors."

Education:
Dr. Heather McGuire received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from the University of Rochester, and then she received her Masters degree in Marine Science from The College of William and Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science. She went on to receive a Doctorate degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Science from Louisiana State University. Dr. McGuire joined Chowan University in 2005.

Courses Taught:
General Biology
Limnology
Marine Biology
Principles of Ecology
Wildlife and Fisheries Biology
Wetlands Biology


Selected Publications:
McGuire, Heather L., and Mohamed A. F. Noor. 2002. Microsatellite loci for great white herons and great blue herons (Aves, Ardeidae, Ardea herodias). Molecular Ecology Notes 2(2): 170-173.

McGuire, Heather L. 2002. Taxonomic status of the Great White Heron (Ardea herodias occidentalis): an analysis of behavioral, genetic, and morphometric evidence. Final Report. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Tallahassee, Florida, USA.

Dame, J.K. and H.L. McGuire. 1994. Inventory of habitat and survey of nesting pairs of the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) within Redwood National Park. U.S. Department of the interior. Redwood National Park, Arcata, CA. 51 pp.

 

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Amy R. Wethington Assistant Professor of Biology

"I find the students here very enthusiastic and I enjoy getting to know them and helping them discover their strengths and talents. One of Chowan University's many assets is its proximity to numerous pristine freshwater and marine ecosystems that offer excellent opportunities for our students."

Education:
Dr. Wethington received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from Clemson University, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the College of Charleston where she graduated cum laude. She received a Master of Science degree in Marine Biology from the University of Charleston and a Master of Arts degree in Evolutionary Ecology and Behavior from Indiana University. She received a Doctorate degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Alabama and became a Post Doctoral Research Associate at Purdue University. Dr. Wethington joined Chowan University in 2005.

Courses Taught:
Microbiology
Animal Behavior
Invertebrate Biology
Directed Research
General Biology

Selected Publications:
Rogers, D. Christopher and Amy R. Wethington. In press. Physa natricina Taylor 1988, junior synonym of Physa acuta Draparnaud, 1805 (Pulmonata: Physidae). Zootaxa. >Click to View

Wethington, Amy R. and Charles Lydeard. 2007. A molecular phylogeny of Physidae (Gastropoda: Basommatophora) based on mitochondrial DNA sequences. Journal of Molluscan Studies doi: 10.1093/mollus/eym021. >Click to View

Dillon, Robert T., Jr., John D. Robinson, and Amy R. Wethington. 2007. Empirical estimates of reproductive isolation among the freshwater pulmonate snails Physa acuta, P. pomilia, and P. hendersoni. Malacologia 49(2):283-292. >Click to View

Wethington, A.R., M. Zavodna, M.K. Smith, G. Oliverira, F. Lewis, and D.J. Minchella. 2007. Population genetic structure of Biomphalaria glabrata in a schistosomiasis-endemic region in Brazil. Journal of Molluscan Studies 73:45-52. >Click to View

Dillon, R. T., and A. R. Wethington. 2006. No-choice mating experiments among six nominal taxa of the subgenus Physella (Basommatophora: Physidae). Heldia 6: 41 - 50. >Click to View

Dillon, R.T., Jr. and A.R. Wethington. 2006. The Michigan Physidae revisited: a population genetic survey. Malacologia 48(1-2): 133-142. >Click to View

Wethington, A.R. and R.T. Dillon, Jr. 1997. Selfing, outcrossing, and mixed mating in the freshwater snail Physa heterostropha: lifetime fitness and inbreeding depression. Invertebrate Biology 116(3):192-199. >Click to View

Wethington, A.R. and R.T. Dillon, Jr. 1996. Gender choice and gender conflict in a non-reciprocally mating simultaneous hermaphrodite, the freshwater snail, Physa. Animal Behaviour 51:1107-1118. >Click to View

Dillon, R.T., Jr. and A.R. Wethington. 1995. The biogeography of sea islands: clues from the population genetics of the freshwater snail, Physa heterostropha. Systematic Biology 44:400-408. >Click to View

Wethington, A.R. and R.T. Dillon, Jr. 1993. Reproductive development in the hermaphroditic freshwater snail, Physa, monitored with complementing albino lines. Proceedings of the Royal Society (London) B 252:109-114. >Click to View

Dillon, R.T., Jr., J.D. Robinson, T.P. Smith, and A.R. Wethington. 2005. No reproductive isolation between freshwater pulmonate snails Physa virgata and P. acuta. Southwestern Naturalist 50(4):415-422.

Wethington, A.R. and R. Guralnick. 2004. Are hot-spring physids distinctive lineages? A molecular systematic perspective. American Malacological Bulletin 19:135-144.

Dillon, R.T., Jr. and A. R. Wethington. 2004. No-choice mating experiments among six nominal taxa of the subgenus Physella (Basommatorphora: Physidae). Heldia 6:1-9.

Dillon, R. T., Jr., A. R. Wethington, J. M. Rhett, and T. P. Smith. 2002. Populations of the European freshwater pulmonate Physa acuta are not reproductively isolated from American Physa heterostropha or Physa integra. Invertebrate Biology 121(3): 226-234.

Wethington, A.R., E.R. Eastman, and R.T. Dillon, Jr. 2000. No premating reproductive isolation among populaitons of a simultaneous hermaphrodite, the freshwater snail Physa. Pages: 245-251 in Freshwater Mollusk Proceedings - Part II: Proceedings of the first Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society Symposium, March 1999. P.D. Johnson and R.S. Butler editors. Ohio Biological Society, Columbus, Ohio.

Dillon, R. T. Jr. and A.R. Wethington. 1994. Inheritance at five loci in the freshwater snail, Physa heterostropha. Biochemical Genetics 32(3/4):75-82.

Dillon, R.T. Jr. and A.R. Wethington. 1992. The inheritance of albinism in a freshwater snail, Physa heterostropha. Journal of Heredity 83(3):208-210.

Wethington, A.R. and R.T. Dillon, Jr. 1991. Sperm storage and evidence for multiple insemination in a natural population of the freshwater snail, Physa. American Malacologicial Bulletin 9:99-102.