Petersen, Lene Instructional Assistant Professor

The main research focus of my lab is to understand how environmental (temperature, hypoxia, salinity) and anthropogenic (pharmaceuticals, contaminants) stressors affect animal physiology. In particular, we are interested in understanding cardiovascular, respiratory, reproductive and metabolic responses to stressors. We study effects of short (few hours/days) and long-term (weeks) stressors (individual or multiple) at all levels of biological organization (molecular, cellular, organ and whole-organism), and developmental stages (early life stage to adult). Understanding how perturbations in the animal's environment mechanistically affect survival is important in assisting conservation efforts. We are currently studying physiological responses in American alligators and local Gulf of Mexico fish species.