Address:

Biology Department

E. 502 Boone Ave.

Spokane, WA 99258-0006

phone 509-313-6636

Courses I teach:

Diversity of Life (BIOL 101), Genetics and Evolution (BIOL202), Advanced Evolution (BIOL 334), Advanced Topics (BIOL 399), Senior Colloquium (BIOL499), Independent Research (BIOL498), Biology Pathways (UNIV104), among a few others

My formal education:

Ph.D. in Zoology (May 1989) University of California at Berkeley

        Dissertation: The evolution of sexual dimorphism in the salamander genus Aneides (Amphibia: Plethodontidae); major professor: Dr. David B. Wake

B.A. (June 1980) in Biology, Earlham College, Richmond Indiana

Research Interests:

I'm particularly intrigued with the evolution of sexual dimorphism, particularly in amphibians, particularly in salamanders.  Currently my lab studies sexually dimorphic skin glands in plethodontid salamanders, but we occasionally work on species in the family Salamandridae as well.  Salamanders are known to communicate via pheromones, but little is known about which glands produce these chemical signals, other than the well-studied male mental gland, which is used in courtship. 

Publications     (undergraduate authors are underlined):

Sever, DM and NL Staub. 2010. Hormones, sex accessory structures and secondary sexual characters in amphibians, In "Hormones and Reproduction of Vertebrates" (D.O. Norris and K.H. Lopez, eds.), vol. 2, pp. 83-98, San Diego, Elsevier.

Fontana MF, LD Houck, and NL Staub. 2007. In situ localization of plethodontid courtship pheromone mRNA in formalin-fixed tissue. Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 150:480-485.

Fontana MF, KA Ask, RJ MacDonald, AM Carnes, and NL Staub. 2006.  Loss of traditional mucous glands and presence of a novel mucus-producing granular gland in the plethodontid salamander Ensatina eschscholtzii   Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 87: 469-477.

Staub, NL, PG Pauw, and D Pauw. 2006.  Seeing the forest through the trees: Helping students appreciate life's diversity by building the Tree of Life.  The American Biology Teacher 68:149-151.

Staub NL, CA Palmer, A Carnes, C Quitiquit, and M Susantio. 2005.  A dorsal tail tubercle containing hypertrophied granular and mucous glands is present in female Salamandra luschani (Salamandridae). Herpetologica 61(4):415-421.           

Staub, N.L. and D.B. Wake. 2005.  Aneides ferreus Cope, 1869, Clouded Salamander. Pp 658-660. In Lannoo, M.J. (Ed.), Amphibian Declines: The Conservation Status of United States Species. Volume 2: Species Accounts. University of California Press, Berkeley, California.

Staub, N.L. and D.B. Wake. 2005.  Aneides flavipunctatus (Strauch, 1870), Black Salamander. Pp 660-661. In Lannoo, M.J. (Ed.), Amphibian Declines: The Conservation Status of United States Species. Volume 2: Species Accounts. University of California Press, Berkeley, California.

Staub, N.L. and D.B. Wake. 2005. Aneides lugubris (Hallowell, 1949), Arboreal Salamander. Pp 662-664. In Lannoo, M.J. (Ed.), Amphibian Declines: The Conservation Status of United States Species. Volume 2: Species Accounts. University of California Press, Berkeley, California.

Staub, N.L. and D.B. Wake. Aneides vagrans Wake and Jackman, 1998, Wandering Salamander. Pp 664-666. In Lannoo, M.J. (Ed.), Amphibian Declines: The Conservation Status of United States Species. Volume 2: Species Accounts. University of California Press, Berkeley, California.

Staub, N.L.  2002. Teaching evolutionary mechanisms: Genetic drift and "M&M's"^®, Bioscience 42(4):373-377.

Staub, N.L. and R. Anderson.  2001.  A Novel Behavior For Urodeles:  Micturition In The Plethodontid Salamander Aneides lugubris.  Herpetological Review 32(3):158-9. 

Staub, N.L. and M. DeBeer.  1997.  The role of androgens in female vertebrates: A review.  General and Comparative Endocrinology  108:1-24.   Cover article.

Staub, N.L. and J. Paladin.  1997.  The presence of modified granular glands in male and female Aneides lugubris (Amphibia: Plethodontidae). Herpetologica  53:339-344.   

Staub, N.L., C.W. Brown, and D. B. Wake.  1995.  Movement patterns of the salamander Ensatina eschscholtzii platensis in the Sierra Nevada of California.  Journal of Herpetology  29:593-599.

Staub, N.L.  1995.  Plethodon idahoensis Predation.  Herpetological Review  26: 199.

Staub, N.L.  1993.    Intraspecific agonistic behavior of the salamander Aneides flavipunctatus (Amphibia: Plethodontidae) with comparisons to other plethodontid species.  Herpetologica 49:271-282.