Ben Vernasco

vernascb@whitman.edu
Hall of Science 172
509-526-4700
Ben's Personal Website Ben's CV

My focus as an integrative organismal biologist revolves around exploring the causes and consequences of variation in fitness-related traits and behaviors. I combine molecular techniques and modern technologies to address ecological and evolutionary questions, in many cases examining connections between different levels of biological organization. I also conduct applied research focused on the conservation and management of wildlife in the Blue Mountains.

A major focus of my current research is on understanding the causes and consequences of variation in telomeres, the aglets of DNA, in a variety of ecological and evolutionary contexts. This includes studies examining how telomeres relate to migratory behavior and glucocorticoid physiology in nomadic finches (pine siskins, red crossbills) and the courtship behavior of Neotropical rainforest birds (manakins).

A second major focus of my research occurs in collaboration with the US Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station. We work to understand and conserve wildlife found in the Northern Blue Mountain Region (Umatilla, Wallowa-Whitman National Forests) by combining bioacoustics techniques, machine learning technologies, and occupancy modeling. Viewed together, my research addresses applied questions related to the ecology and conservation of wildlife as well as fundamental questions examining organismal function.

An up to date publication list can be found on my Google Scholar page.

28. Vernasco BJ, Cornelius JM & Watts HE (2022). Social information use in migratory decision-making depends upon conspecific state. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 76, 130.

27. Vernasco BJ, Watts HE. 2022 Telomere length predicts timing and intensity of migratory behaviour in a nomadic songbird. Biol. Lett. 18.

26. Alfonso C, Jones BC, Vernasco BJ, & Moore, IT (2021). Integrative Studies of Sexual Selection in Manakins, a Clade of Charismatic Tropical Birds. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 61(4), 1267–1280.

25. Cornelius JM, Hahn T, Robart AR, Vernasco BJ, Zahor DJ, Glynn KJ, Navis CJ, & Watts HE (2021). Seasonal Patterns of Fat Deposits in Relation to Migratory Strategy in Facultative Migrants. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9, 1-14.

24. Claunch NM, Holding M, Frazier JT, Huff EM, Schonour RB, Vernasco BJ, Moore IT, Rokyta DR, & Taylor EM (2021). Experimental manipulation of corticosterone levels does not affect venom composition or functional activity in free-ranging rattlesnakes. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, 94, 286-301.

23. Vernasco BJ, Emmerson ME, Gilbert ER, Sewall KB, & Watts HE (2021). Migratory state and patterns of steroid hormone regulation in the pectoralis muscle of a nomadic migrant, the pine siskin (Spinus pinus). General and Comparative Endocrinology, 309, 113787.

22. Vernasco BJ, Dakin R, Majer AD*, Haussmann MF, Ryder TB, & Moore IT (2021). Longitudinal dynamics and behavioral correlates of telomeres in male wire-tailed manakins. Functional Ecology, 35, 450-462. *Undergraduate co-author

21. Dakin R, Moore IT, Horton BM, Vernasco BJ, & Ryder TB (2021). Testosterone‐mediated behavior shapes the emergent properties of social networks. Journal of Animal Ecology, 1365-2656.13305.

20. Newhouse DJ* & Vernasco BJ* (2020). Developing a transcriptomic framework for testing testosterone-mediated handicap hypotheses. General and Comparative Endocrinology, 298, 113577. *co-first authorship

19. Lind CM, Moore IT, Vernasco BJ, Latney LV, DiGeronimo PM, & Farrell TM (2020). The relationship between steroid hormones and seasonal reproductive events in free-living female Pygmy Rattlesnakes, Sistrurus miliarius. General and Comparative Endocrinology, 290, 113416.

18. Hernandez J, Escallón C, Medina D, Vernasco BJ, Walke JB, Belden LK, & Moore IT (2020). Cloacal bacterial communities of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor): Similarity within a population, but not between pair-bonded social partners. PLOS ONE, 15, e0228982.

17. Vernasco BJ, & Moore IT (2020). Testosterone as a mediator of the tradeoff between cooperation and competition in the context of cooperative reproductive behaviors. General and Comparative Endocrinology, 288, 113369.

16. Ryder TB, Dakin R, Vernasco BJ, Evans BS, Horton BM, & Moore IT (2020). Testosterone Modulates Status-Specific Patterns of Cooperation in a Social Network. The American Naturalist, 195, 82–94.

15. Vernasco BJ, Horton BM, Moore IT, & Ryder TB (2020). Reduced cooperative behavior as a cost of high testosterone in a lekking passerine bird. Behavioral Ecology, 31, 401–410.

14. Stepanek J, Claunch NM, Frazier JA, Moore IT, Vernasco BJ, Escallón C, & Taylor EN (2019). Corticosterone and Color Change in Southern Pacific Rattlesnakes (Crotalus helleri). Herpetologica, 143.

13. Moore IT, Vernasco BJ, Escallón C, Small TW, Ryder TB, & Horton BM (2019). Tales of testosterone: Advancing our understanding of environmental endocrinology through studies of neotropical birds. General and Comparative Endocrinology, 273, 184–191.

12. Lind CM, Lorch JM, Moore IT, Vernasco BJ, & Farrell TM (2019). Seasonal sex steroids indicate reproductive costs associated with snake fungal disease. Journal of Zoology, 307, 104–110.

11. Vernasco BJ, Horton BM, Ryder TB, & Moore IT (2019). Sampling baseline androgens in freeliving passerines: Methodological considerations and solutions. General and Comparative Endocrinology, 273, 202–208.

10. Vernasco BJ, Sillett TS, Marra PP, & Ryder TB (2018). Environmental predictors of nestling condition, postfledging movement, and postfledging survival in a migratory songbird, Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina). The Auk, 135, 15–24.

9. Ashton SE, Vernasco BJ, Moore IT, & Parker MR (2018). Sex and seasonal differences in mRNA expression of estrogen receptor α (ESR1) in red-sided garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis). General and Comparative Endocrinology, 267, 59–65.

8. Lind CM, Moore IT, Vernasco BJ, & Farrell TM (2018). Seasonal testosterone and corticosterone patterns in relation to body condition and reproduction in a subtropical pitviper, Sistrurus miliarius. General and Comparative Endocrinology, 267, 51–58.

7. Lind C, Moore IT, Akçay Ç, Vernasco BJ, Lorch JM, & Farrell TM (2018). Patterns of circulating corticosterone in a population of rattlesnakes afflicted with snake fungal disease: Stress hormones as a potential mediator of seasonal cycles in disease severity and outcomes. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, 91, 765–775.

6. Claunch NM, Holding ML, Escallón C, Vernasco BJ, Moore IT, & Taylor EN (2017). Good vibrations: Assessing the stability of snake venom composition after researcher-induced disturbance in the laboratory. Toxicon, 133, 127–135.

5. Lind CM, Ramis F, Paredes DJG, Moore IT, Vernasco BJ, & Farrell TM (2017). Mechanisms underlying maternal care in a viviparous snake, Sistrurus miliarius: Does maternal body condition, corticosterone, or arginine vasotocin mediate post-birth maternal investment? Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological and Integrative Physiology, 327, 458–465.

4. Claunch NM, Frazier JA, Escallón C, Vernasco BJ, Moore IT, & Taylor EN (2017). Physiological and behavioral effects of exogenous corticosterone in a free-ranging ectotherm. General and Comparative Endocrinology, 248, 87–96.

3. Beck ML, Davies S, Moore IT, Schoenle LA, Kerman K, Vernasco BJ, & Sewall KB (2016). Beeswax corticosterone implants produce long-term elevation of plasma corticosterone and influence condition. General and Comparative Endocrinology, 233, 109–114.

2. Capehart GD, Escallón C, Vernasco BJ, Moore IT, & Taylor EN (2016). No drought about it: Effects of supplemental hydration on the ecology, behavior, and physiology of free-ranging rattlesnakes. Journal of Arid Environments, 134, 79–86.

1. Streby HM, Peterson SM, Lehman JA, Kramer GR, Vernasco BJ, & Andersen DE (2014). Do digestive contents confound body mass as a measure of relative condition in nestling songbirds? Wildlife Society Bulletin, 38, 305–310.

Education

2008-2013 B.S. in Applied Vertebrate Ecology, Humboldt State University Advisor: Dr. Daniel Barton

2014-2019 Ph.D. Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech Advisor: Drs. Ignacio T. Moore and T. Brandt Ryder

2014-2019 Interfaces of Global Change Fellow, Virginia Tech Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program

Professional Experience

2023-present Research Scientist and Adjunct Assistant Professor, Whitman College

2023-present Postdoctoral Fellow with the USFS Pacific Northwest Research Station Supervisor: Dr. Adam Duarte

2019-2022 Postdoctoral Research Associate, Washington State University Advisor: Dr. Heather E. Watts

2012 Bander certified by the North American Bird Banding Council