HR job title
- Associate Professor
- Contact Info
- 1 979 458 4357
- Websites
- ORCiD
- 0000-0001-6462-3045
Light, Jessica Associate Professor
Positions
- Associate Professor, Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Research Areas
- Overview
- Publications
- Research
- Teaching
- Works By Students
- Background
- Contact
- Other
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Overview
Publications
selected publications
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academic article
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Galan, A. P., Hamer, S. A., Folmar, H. A., Campbell, T. A., & Light, J. E.
(2022).
Baseline biodiversity assessment of South Texas small mammals and host-associated hard ticks with no detection of selected tick-borne pathogens. WESTERN NORTH AMERICAN NATURALIST.
82(2), 254-270.
-
Siciliano-Martina, L., Light, J. E., Riley, D. G., & Lawing, A. M.
(2022).
One of these wolves is not like the other: morphological effects and conservation implications of captivity in Mexican wolves. Animal Conservation.
25(1), 77-90.
-
Hancock, Z. B., Ogawa, H., Light, J. E., & Wicksten, M. K.
(2022).
Origin and evolution of the Haustoriidae (Amphipoda): a eulogy for the Haustoriidira. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
194(4), 1252-1267.
-
Preisser, W. C., Castellanos, A. A., Kinsella, J. M., Vargas, R., Gonzalez, E., Fernandez, J. A., ... Light, J. E.
(2022).
Taxonomic scale and community organization impact observed latitudinal gradients of parasite diversity. Journal of Biogeography.
49(4), 617-629.
-
Light, J. E., Keane, A. S., & Evans, J. W.
(2021).
Updating the distribution of American black bears (Ursus americanus) in Texas using community science, state agencies, and natural history collections. WESTERN NORTH AMERICAN NATURALIST.
81(3), 396-406.
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Zecca, I. B., Hodo, C. L., Swarts, H. M., DeMaar, T. W., Snowden, K. F., Prestridge, H. L., Light, J. E., & Hamer, S. A.
(2021).
Trypanosoma cruzi and Incidental Sarcocystis spp. in Endangered Ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) of South Texas, USA. Journal of Wildlife Diseases.
57(3), 667-671.
-
Siciliano-Martina, L., Light, J. E., & Lawing, A. M.
(2021).
Changes in canid cranial morphology induced by captivity and conservation implications. Biological Conservation.
257, 109143-109143.
-
Siciliano-Martina, L., Light, J. E., & Lawing, A. M.
(2021).
Cranial morphology of captive mammals: a meta-analysis. Frontiers in Zoology.
18(1), 4.
-
Hinde, K., Amorim, C., Brokaw, A. F., Burt, N., Casillas, M. C., Chen, A., ... Anderson, C. N.
(2021).
March Mammal Madness and the power of narrative in science outreach. eLife.
10, e65066.
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Pistone, J. P., Light, J. E., Campbell, T. A., Catanach, T. A., & Voelker, G.
(2021).
Restricted Geographic Sampling Yields Low Parasitism Rates but Surprisingly Diverse Host Associations in Avian Lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) from South Texas. Diversity.
13(9), 430-430.
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Hollingsworth, K. A., Shively, R. D., Glasscock, S. N., Light, J. E., Tolleson, D. R., & Barboza, P. S.
(2021).
Trace mineral supplies for populations of little and large herbivores. PLoS One.
16(3), e0248204-e0248204.
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Miller, S. E., Barrow, L. N., Ehlman, S. M., Goodheart, J. A., Greiman, S. E., Lutz, H. L., ... Light, J. E.
(2020).
Building Natural History Collections for the Twenty-First Century and Beyond. BIOSCIENCE.
70(8), 674-687.
-
Light, J. E., Eckerlin, R. P., & Durden, L. A.
(2019).
Checklist of ectoparasites of Canidae and Felidae in Mxico. Therya.
10(2), 109-119.
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Demastes, J. W., Hafner, D. J., Hafner, M. S., Light, J. E., & Spradling, T. A.
(2019).
Loss of genetic diversity, recovery and allele surfing in a colonizing parasite, Geomydoecus aurei. Molecular Ecology.
28(4), 703-720.
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Takano, O. M., Voelker, G., Gustafsson, D. R., & Light, J. E.
(2019).
Molecular phylogeny and novel host associations of avian chewing lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) from South Africa. Systematic Entomology.
44(2), 289-304.
-
Benedict, B. D., Castellanos, A. A., & Light, J. E.
(2019).
Phylogeographic assessment of the Heermann's kangaroo rat (Dipodomys heermanni). JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY.
100(1), 72-91.
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Neiswenter, S. A., Hafner, D. J., Light, J. E., Cepeda, G. D., Kinzer, K. C., Alexander, L. F., & Riddle, B. R.
(2019).
Phylogeography and taxonomic revision of Nelson's pocket mouse (Chaetodipus nelsoni). JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY.
100(6), 1847-1864.
-
Hancock, Z. B., Hardin, F. O., & Light, J. E.
(2019).
Phylogeography of sand-burrowing amphipods (Haustoriidae) supports an ancient suture zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Journal of Biogeography.
46(11), 2532-2547.
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Kjeldgaard, M. K., Takano, O. M., Bockoven, A. A., Teel, P. D., Light, J. E., Hamer, S. A., Hamer, G. L., & Eubanks, M. D.
(2019).
Red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) aggression influences the behavior of three hard tick species. EXPERIMENTAL AND APPLIED ACAROLOGY.
79(1), 87-97.
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Hafner, D. J., Hafner, M. S., Spradling, T. A., Light, J. E., & Demastes, J. W.
(2019).
Temporal and spatial dynamics of competitive parapatry in chewing lice. Ecology and Evolution.
9(13), 7410-7424.
-
Cook, J. A., & Light, J. E.
(2019).
The emerging role of mammal collections in 21st century mammalogy. JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY.
100(3), 733-750.
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Hodo, C. L., Mauldin, M. R., Light, J. E., Wilkins, K., Tang, S., Nakazawa, Y., ... Hamer, S. A.
(2018).
Novel Poxvirus in Proliferative Lesions of Wild Rodents in East Central Texas, USA. Emerging Infectious Diseases.
24(6), 1069-1072.
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Light, J. E., Harper, S. E., Johnson, K. P., Demastes, J. W., & Spradling, T. A.
(2018).
Development and Characterization of 12 Novel Polymorphic Microsatellite Loci for the Mammal Chewing Louse Geomydoecus aurei (Insecta: Phthiraptera) and a Comparison of Next-Generation Sequencing Approaches for Use in Parasitology. Journal of Parasitology.
104(1), 89-95.
-
Arcangeli, J., Light, J. E., & Cervantes, F. A.
(2018).
Molecular and morphological evidence of the diversification in the gray mouse opossum, Tlacuatzin canescens (Didelphimorphia), with description of a new species. JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY.
99(1), 138-158.
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Anderson, A. P., Light, J. E., Takano, O. M., & Morrison, M. L.
(2018).
Population structure of the Townsend's big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii townsendii) in California. JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY.
99(3), 646-658.
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Takano, O. M., Mitchell, P. S., Gustafsson, D. R., Adite, A., Voelker, G., & Light, J. E.
(2017).
An Assessment of Host Associations, Geographic Distributions, and Genetic Diversity of Avian Chewing Lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) from Benin. Journal of Parasitology.
103(2), 152-160.
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Castellanos, A. A., Medeiros, M., Hamer, G. L., Morrow, M. E., Eubanks, M. D., Teel, P. D., Hamer, S. A., & Light, J. E.
(2016).
Decreased small mammal and on-host tick abundance in association with invasive red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta). Biology Letters.
12(9), 20160463-20160463.
-
Allen, J. M., Burleigh, J. G., Light, J. E., & Reed, D. L.
(2016).
Effects of 16S rDNA sampling on estimates of the number of endosymbiont lineages in sucking lice. PeerJ.
4(7), e2187-e2187.
-
Light, J. E., Ostroff, M. O., & Hafner, D. J.
(2016).
Phylogeographic assessment of the northern pygmy mouse, Baiomys taylori. JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY.
97(4), 1081-1094.
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Light, J. E., Nessner, C. E., Gustafsson, D. R., Wise, S. R., & Voelker, G.
(2016).
Remarkable levels of avian louse (Insecta: Phthiraptera) diversity in the Congo Basin. Zoologica Scripta.
45(5), 538-551.
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Cook, J. A., Greiman, S. E., Agosta, S. J., Anderson, R. P., Arbogast, B. S., Baker, R. J., ... Hoberg, E. P.
(2016).
Transformational Principles for NEON Sampling of Mammalian Parasites and Pathogens: A Response to Springer and Colleagues. BIOSCIENCE.
66(11), 917-919.
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Rodriguez, J. E., Hamer, S. A., Castellanos, A. A., & Light, J. E.
(2015).
Survey of a Rodent and Tick Community in East-Central Texas. Southeastern Naturalist.
14(3), 415-424.
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Nessner, C. E., Andersen, J. J., Renshaw, M. A., Giresi, M. M., & Light, J. E.
(2014).
Characterization of 17 novel polymorphic microsatellite loci in the mammal chewing louse Geomydoecus ewingi (Insecta: Phthiraptera) for population genetic analyses. Journal of Parasitology.
100(6), 873-877.
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Welborn, S. R., & Light, J. E.
(2014).
POPULATION GENETIC STRUCTURE OF THE BAIRD'S POCKET GOPHER, GEOMYS BREVICEPS, IN EASTERN TEXAS. WESTERN NORTH AMERICAN NATURALIST.
74(3), 325-334.
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Andersen, J. J., Portnoy, D. S., Hafner, J. C., & Light, J. E.
(2013).
Populations at risk: conservation genetics of kangaroo mice (Microdipodops) of the Great Basin Desert. Ecology and Evolution.
3(8), 2497-2513.
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Voelker, G., Marks, B. D., Kahindo, C., A'genonga, U., Bapeamoni, F., Duffie, L. E., ... Light, J. E.
(2013).
River barriers and cryptic biodiversity in an evolutionary museum. Ecology and Evolution.
3(3), 536-545.
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Light, J. E., Hafner, J. C., Upham, N. S., & Reddington, E.
(2013).
Conservation Genetics of Kangaroo Mice, Genus Microdipodops. Journal of Mammalian Evolution.
20(2), 129-146.
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Demastes, J. W., Spradling, T. A., Hafner, M. S., Spies, G. R., Hafner, D. J., & Light, J. E.
(2012).
Cophylogeny on a fine scale: Geomydoecus chewing lice and their pocket gopher hosts, Pappogeomys bulleri. Journal of Parasitology.
98(2), 262-270.
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Welborn, S. R., Renshaw, M. A., & Light, J. E.
(2012).
Characterization of 10 polymorphic loci in the Baird's pocket gopher (Geomys breviceps) and cross-amplification in other gopher species. Conservation Genetics Resources.
4(2), 467-469.
-
Andersen, J. J., Renshaw, M. A., & Light, J. E.
(2012).
Eight novel polymorphic microsatellites in the hispid pocket mouse (Chaetodipus hispidus) and cross-amplification in other Perognathinae species (Rodentia: Heteromyidae). Conservation Genetics Resources.
4(4), 1019-1021.
-
Andersen, J. J., & Light, J. E.
(2012).
Phylogeography and subspecies revision of the hispid pocket mouse, Chaetodipus hispidus (Rodentia: Heteromyidae). JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY.
93(4), 1195-1215.
-
Smith, V. S., Ford, T., Johnson, K. P., Johnson, P., Yoshizawa, K., & Light, J. E.
(2011).
Multiple lineages of lice pass through the K-Pg boundary. Biology Letters.
7(5), 782-785.
-
Voelker, G., & Light, J. E.
(2011).
Palaeoclimatic events, dispersal and migratory losses along the Afro-European axis as drivers of biogeographic distribution in Sylvia warblers. BMC Evolutionary Biology.
11(1), 163.
-
Toups, M. A., Kitchen, A., Light, J. E., & Reed, D. L.
(2011).
Origin of clothing lice indicates early clothing use by anatomically modern humans in Africa. Molecular Biology and Evolution.
28(1), 29-32.
-
Musser, G. G., Durden, L. A., Holden, M. E., & Light, J. E.
(2010).
Systematic Review of Endemic Sulawesi Squirrels (Rodentia, Sciuridae), with Descriptions of New Species of Associated Sucking Lice (Insecta, Anoplura), and Phylogenetic and Zoogeographic Assessments of Sciurid Lice. 339(339), 1-260.
-
Light, J. E., Smith, V. S., Allen, J. M., Durden, L. A., & Reed, D. L.
(2010).
Evolutionary history of mammalian sucking lice (Phthiraptera: Anoplura). BMC Evolutionary Biology.
10(1), 292-292.
-
Lance, S. L., Light, J. E., Jones, K. L., Hagen, C., & Hafner, J. C.
(2010).
Isolation and characterization of 17 polymorphic microsatellite loci in the kangaroo mouse, genus Microdipodops (Rodentia: Heteromyidae). Conservation Genetics Resources.
2(1), 139-141.
-
Musser, G. G., Durden, L. A., Holden, M. E., & Light, J. E.
(2010).
SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF ENDEMIC SULAWESI SQUIRRELS (RODENTIA, SCIURIDAE), WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW SPECIES OF ASSOCIATED SUCKING LICE (INSECTA, ANOPLURA), AND PHYLOGENETTC AND ZOOGEOGRAPHIC ASSESSMENTS OF SCIURID LICE. 4-260.
-
Allen, J. M., Light, J. E., Perotti, M. A., Braig, H. R., & Reed, D. L.
(2009).
Mutational meltdown in primary endosymbionts: selection limits Muller's ratchet. PLoS One.
4(3), e4969-e4969.
-
Hafner, M. S., Hafner, D. J., Demastes, J. W., Hasty, G. L., Light, J. E., & Spradling, T. A.
(2009).
Evolutionary Relationships of Pocket Gophers of the Genus Pappogeomys (Rodentia: Geomyidae). JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY.
90(1), 47-56.
-
Light, J. E., & Reed, D. L.
(2009).
Multigene analysis of phylogenetic relationships and divergence times of primate sucking lice (Phthiraptera: Anoplura). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
50(2), 376-390.
-
Light, J. E., Allen, J. M., Long, L. M., Carter, T. E., Barrow, L., Suren, G., Raoult, D., & Reed, D. L.
(2008).
Geographic distributions and origins of human head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) based on mitochondrial data. Journal of Parasitology.
94(6), 1275-1281.
-
SMITH, V. S., LIGHT, J. E., & DURDEN, L. A.
(2008).
Rodent louse diversity, phylogeny, and cospeciation in the Manu Biosphere Reserve, Peru. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.
95(3), 598-610.
-
Light, J. E., & Hafner, M. S.
(2008).
Codivergence in heteromyid rodents (Rodentia: heteromyidae) and their sucking lice of the genus Fahrenholzia (Phthiraptera: anoplura). Systematic Biology.
57(3), 449-465.
-
Raoult, D., Reed, D. L., Dittmar, K., Kirchman, J. J., Rolain, J., Guillen, S., & Light, J. E.
(2008).
Molecular identification of lice from pre-Columbian mummies. Journal of Infectious Diseases.
197(4), 535-543.
-
Light, J. E., Toups, M. A., & Reed, D. L.
(2008).
What's in a name: the taxonomic status of human head and body lice. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
47(3), 1203-1216.
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Hafner, J. C., Light, J. E., Hafner, D. J., Hafner, M. S., Reddington, E., Rogers, S., & Riddle, B. R.
(2007).
Basal Clades and Molecular Systematics of Heteromyid Rodents. JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY.
88(5), 1129-1145.
-
Light, J. E., & Hafner, M. S.
(2007).
Cophylogeny and disparate rates of evolution in sympatric lineages of chewing lice on pocket gophers. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
45(3), 997-1013.
-
Reed, D. L., Light, J. E., Allen, J. M., & Kirchman, J. J.
(2007).
Pair of lice lost or parasites regained: the evolutionary history of anthropoid primate lice. BMC Biology.
5(1), 7.
-
LIGHT, J. E., & HAFNER, M. S.
(2007).
Phylogenetics and host associations of Fahrenholzia sucking lice (Phthiraptera: Anoplura). Systematic Entomology.
32(2), 359-370.
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Hafner, M. S., Light, J. E., Hafner, D. J., Brant, S. V., Spradling, T. A., & Demastes, J. W.
(2005).
CRYPTIC SPECIES IN THE MEXICAN POCKET GOPHER CRATOGEOMYS MERRIAMI. JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY.
86(6), 1095-1108.
-
Light, J. E., Fiumera, A. C., & Porter, B. A.
(2005).
Eggfeeding in the freshwater piscicolid leech Cystobranchus virginicus (Annelida, Hirudinea). Invertebrate Biology.
124(1), 50-56.
-
Burreson, E. M., Light, J. E., & Williams, J. I.
(2005).
Redescription of Cystobranchus virginicus Hoffman, 1964, and Cystobranchus salmositicus (Meyer, 1946) (Hirudinida: Piscicolidae) from Freshwater Fishes in North America. Journal- Helminthological Society Washington.
72(2), 157-165.
-
Hafner, M. S., Spradling, T. A., Light, J. E., Hafner, D. J., & Demboski, J. R.
(2004).
SYSTEMATIC REVISION OF POCKET GOPHERS OF THE CRATOGEOMYS GYMNURUS SPECIES GROUP. JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY.
85(6), 1170-1183.
-
Demastes, J. W., Butt, A. L., Hafner, M. S., & Light, J. E.
(2003).
SYSTEMATICS OF A RARE SPECIES OF POCKET GOPHER, PAPPOGEOMYS ALCORNI. JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY.
95(3), 753-761.
-
Light, J. E., & Siddall, M. E.
(1999).
Phylogeny of the leech family Glossiphoniidae based on mitochondrial gene sequences and morphological data. Journal of Parasitology.
85(5), 815-823.
-
Galan, A. P., Hamer, S. A., Folmar, H. A., Campbell, T. A., & Light, J. E.
(2022).
Baseline biodiversity assessment of South Texas small mammals and host-associated hard ticks with no detection of selected tick-borne pathogens. WESTERN NORTH AMERICAN NATURALIST.
82(2), 254-270.
-
chapter
-
Allen, J. M., Worman, C. O., Light, J. E., & Reed, D. L.
(2013).
Parasitic Lice Help to Fill in the Gaps of Early Hominid History. Primates, Pathogens, and Evolution.
(pp. 161-186).
Springer Nature.
-
Allen, J. M., Worman, C. O., Light, J. E., & Reed, D. L.
(2013).
Parasitic Lice Help to Fill in the Gaps of Early Hominid History. Primates, Pathogens, and Evolution.
(pp. 161-186).
Springer Nature.
-
conference paper
-
Connors, P. K., Light, J. E., Tanis, B. P., Drew, J. A., Anderson, C. N., & Hinde, K.
(2019).
March Mammal Madness: a Story about Science and Social Media. INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY.
E42-E42.
-
Kitchen, A., Toups, M. A., Light, J. E., & Reed, D. L.
(2010).
Genetic analysis of human head and clothing lice indicates an early origin of clothing use in archaic hominins. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY.
143-144.
-
Connors, P. K., Light, J. E., Tanis, B. P., Drew, J. A., Anderson, C. N., & Hinde, K.
(2019).
March Mammal Madness: a Story about Science and Social Media. INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY.
E42-E42.
Research
principal investigator on
- OPUS: MCS: Using modern methods with historical museum specimens to elucidate the evolution of a widespread, ecologically important rodent species awarded by Directorate for Biological Sciences - (Arlington, Virginia, United States) 2020 - 2022
- Collaborative Research: Digitization TCN: Digitizing collections to trace parasite-host associations and predict the spread of vector-borne disease awarded by National Science Foundation - (Arlington, Virginia, United States) 2019 - 2022
- Evolutionary Insights from Host-Parasite Interactions: Systematics, Population Genetics, and Coevolution awarded by United States Department of Agriculture - (Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States) 2014 - 2019
Teaching
teaching activities
- BICH491 Hnr-research Instructor
- ECCB285 Directed Studies Instructor
- ECCB401 General Mammalogy Instructor
- ECCB491 Research Instructor
- ECCB691 Research Instructor
- ESSM484 Internship Instructor
- ESSM491 Research Instructor
- ESSM681 Seminar Instructor
- WFSC401 General Mammalogy Instructor
- WFSC484 Internship Instructor
- WFSC485 Directed Studies Instructor
- WFSC491 Research Instructor
- WFSC681 Seminar Instructor
- WFSC685 Directed Studies Instructor
- WFSC691 Research Instructor
Works By Students
chaired theses and dissertations
-
Andersen, John (2012-05). Population Genetics of Kangaroo Mice, Microdipodops (Rodentia: Heteromyidae).
-
Downs, Bridgett Benedict (2018-08). Phylogeographic Assessment of the Heermann's Kangaroo Rat.
-
Downs, Bridgett Benedict (2018-08). Phylogeographic Assessment of the Heermann's Kangaroo Rat.
-
Galan, Aleyda Patricia (2016-12). Baseline Biodiversity Assessment of Small Mammals, Ticks, and Tick-borne Pathogens in South Texas.
-
Nessner, Caitlin Elizabeth (2014-05). Population Genetic Study of the Chewing Louse Geomydoecus ewingi.
-
Rodriguez Jr., Jaime Eleazar (2014-08). Ecology of a Rodent-Tick-Pathogen Community in East-Central Texas.
-
Takano, Oona Mariko (2016-12). Host Associations, Phylogenetics, and Biogeography of Parasitic Avian Chewing Lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) from Sub-Saharan Africa.
-
Welborn, Sarah (2012-08). Population Genetic Analyses of the Baird's Pocket Gopher, Geomys breviceps.
Background
education and training
- Ph.D. in Zoology, Louisiana State University - (Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States) 2005
awards and honors
Contact
first name
- Jessica
has last name
- Light
mailing address
-
Texas A&M University
Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences
2258 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-2258
USA
Other
- jlight2@tamu.edu