RESEARCH

History

     My research career has involved many projects, countries, and collaborators, but I've always been driven by my interests in herpetology, conservation, ecology, and systematics.  My M.S. research was conducted in the Philippines, where I studied the reptiles of a poorly-known part of the island of Mindanao.  My Ph.D. dissertation covered the systematics of the coffee snakes of Central America.  I've researched herpetofauna near and far, including stops in the Amazonian basin of Peru, work on pit vipers in Costa Rica, the introduced brown tree snake of Guam, and endangered herpetofauna in the Caribbean.  I've also worked for a variety of employers, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and the Dallas Zoo.  Since 1998 I've been at Black Hills State University.

Current Research

     Current research is largely focused on the management, ecology, and evolution of reptiles and amphibians in the Black Hills region of South Dakota and Wyoming.  Projects underway include landscape genetics and management of tiger salamanders (in conjunction with my graduate student, Joseph McAllister) and the ecology, genetics, and venom of the prairie rattlesnake (in collaboration with a number of undergraduate and graduate students).

Current Graduate Students

     Joseph McAllister:  Joey comes to BHSU from Oklahoma.  Joey's work focuses on landscape genetics of the tiger salamander in the Black Hills.  He works throughout the region but has a special focus on tiger salamanders at Wind Cave National Park, where he collaborates with National Park Service Colleagues.

Recent Graduate Students

     Jodi Massie:  Jodi finished her thesis, "Phylogeography of the common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) with an emphasis on the fine scale genetic and phenotypic variation across South Dakota", and graduated in 2010.  She currently works for the U.S. Forest Service in Spearfish, South Dakota.

Research Opportunities

     Here are some of the projects we are doing and that we need student help for.

• Ecology, immunology, venom, and genetics of the prairie rattlesnake
• Horned lizard conservation and genetics
• Northern and Plains leopard frog hybridization
• Smooth green snake phylogeography 

How do I get involved?

     Are you interested in getting involved in research in my lab?  Are you a motivated student with good scholarly credentials and some idea of what you might want to do as a career?  If so, I might want to work with you.  Undergraduate and graduate students are welcome.  Just find me in the Life Sciences Laboratory (new sciences building) room 118, call me at 605.642.6879, or e-mail me at brian.smith@bhsu.edu.

Opportunities for Student Funding

     We have some ways to fund student research.  Just find me and I'll help you out.